Last week, the Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Matthew R. Galeotti, delivered remarks at an Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference, announcing that the DOJ’s Criminal Division was “turning a new page on white-collar and corporate enforcement.” He described the often costly and long-running investigations that have deterred companies from working with the Department in the past. The department has revised the previously unwieldy Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, or CEP, which emphasize the benefits for companies ready to “acknowledge and learn from their mistakes.”
“Under the new CEP…those companies that meet our core requirements—voluntarily self-disclose to the Criminal Division, fully cooperate, timely and appropriately remediate, and have no aggravating circumstances—will not be required to enter into a criminal resolution.” If a company does not self-disclose, it will not receive these benefits.
Here’s how attorney Knicole Emanuel summarizes the Criminal Divisions’ new flow chart:
Step 1: Did you mess up?
Yes? Okay.
Step 2: Did you…
- Voluntarily self-disclose it (before anyone finds out)?
- Fully cooperate with the feds?
- Timely and appropriately fix it?
- Avoid seriously shady behavior (e.g., fraud as a business model, repeat offenses, or widespread misconduct)?
If YES to all of the above? Congratulations! You may be eligible for a full declination—that means no prosecution. You’ll still write a check for restitution/disgorgement, but you walk away with your company, your license, and your dignity intact.
If you hit most but not all the boxes—maybe you were late to disclose or have some aggravating factors—you can still land in “near miss” territory:
- You get a non-prosecution agreement (NPA)
- No corporate monitor
- A short compliance period
- 75% off your fine
That’s like getting caught speeding and being handed a warning, a smile, and a discount on your insurance premium.
And if your disclosure is meh, your cooperation is spotty, or your remediation is half-baked? Now you’re looking at:
- Formal prosecution
- Possible monitorship
- A much smaller discount (think 50% or less)
- A much bigger headache
According to Ms. Emanuel, “For healthcare providers, this is a wake-up call wrapped in an opportunity. Mistakes happen—bad coding, misfired billing software, or employees who never quite got HIPAA. The question isn’t whether you’ll find problems, but what you’ll do when you find them. Do nothing and hope no one notices? Risky. Wait until the whistleblower comes knocking? Expensive. Or take the DOJ up on its best offer yet? Potentially life-saving.”
