On January 10, 2024, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) announced the creation of a Whistleblower Pilot Program (SDNY Whistleblower Program). While SDNY has long incentivized individuals to provide information through the offer of a potential agreement with the Government, historically that agreement could range from a cooperation agreement—which requires a guilty plea to criminal charges—to a non-prosecution agreement (NPA)—which does not—with no stated guidance on what factors the Government considers when determining the appropriate offer. For individuals with criminal exposure, an NPA is an extremely desirable outcome because it guarantees that the Government will not file charges as long as the individual complies with its demands, which usually entail full cooperation with the Government’s investigation and prosecution of other culpable individuals and/or companies.
By clarifying the path to an NPA through specific requirements, the SDNY Whistleblower Program seeks to further incentivize individuals to voluntarily self-disclose information. In so doing, it offers individuals who have information of misconduct an incentive to disclose that is similar to incentives provided to companies by the DOJ Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP) and the recent United States Attorneys’ Offices’ Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (USAO VSD).
Though the interplay among the SDNY Whistleblower Program...
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