Matthew Krueger on DOJ Corporate Whistleblower Rewards Program – 'Impact will be limited by its design'

Foley & Lardner LLP partner Matthew Krueger offered perspective on the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new corporate whistleblower awards pilot program in the Report on Medicare Compliance article, “DOJ Offers Rewards for Tips About Corporate Fraud Against Private Payers,” published by the Health Care Compliance Association.

Krueger said the program’s impact will be limited by its design. “I would characterize this as relatively narrow in its applicability,” he explained, noting rewards only apply to tips that result in at least $1 million in civil or criminal forfeiture of the perpetrator’s assets. Krueger commented that the program still “creates additional risk” by giving whistleblowers a concrete incentive to bring information to the government.

Krueger said that when DOJ first announced its plans to offer whistleblower awards, concerns arose that they would encourage employees to bypass compliance programs and go straight to the government. In response, DOJ created what it calls “a narrow window for both whistleblowers and companies to report the same misconduct and remain eligible for potential benefits.”

Even with this concession, Krueger added that the already-fraught decision to self-disclose is more complicated with the rewards program in the mix.