U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of North Carolina Announces Corporate Whistleblower Pilot Program

Last week the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina (EDNC) launched a pilot program designed to encourage the voluntary self-disclosure of criminal conduct taking place within corporations. As announced, the goal of the program reflects DOJ’s emphasis on identifying and prosecuting white collar crime. The EDNC policy is similar to programs instituted at the end of 2024 in several other U.S. Attorney Offices across the country including the District of Columbia, Eastern District of Virginia, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, among others. The programs do not offer financial incentives or awards but provide stronger assurance of non-prosecution protection for cooperators.

The program focuses on two main categories of misconduct: (1) crimes committed by or through public/private entities involving fraud, corporate failures, intellectual property theft, and violations affecting market integrity; and (2) state or local bribery or fraud involving public funds.

Whistleblower Program Summary and Eligibility Requirements:

As written and described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the EDNC, individuals who come forward and voluntarily disclose corporate misconduct within the EDNC may be offered a non-prosecution agreement if they meet several conditions, including:

1. The misconduct has not been previously disclosed or known by the Department of Justice.
2. The disclosure is voluntary, made before government investigation or imminent disclosure.
3. The individual provides substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of others involved engaged in equal or more serious misconduct.
4. The individual discloses all relevant criminal conduct that they are aware of or participated.
5. The individual is not a high-ranking public official, law enforcement agent, or CEO, CFO, or equivalent of a company.
6. The individual has not engaged in violent, sex offenses, or terrorism-related crimes and does not have a prior felony conviction or any fraud-related convictions.
7. The individual agrees to forfeit criminal proceeds and pay restitution to victims.

The evaluation for eligibility under the above requirements is solely in the discretion of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Further, the USAO-EDNC has the sole discretion to determine whether to extend a non-prosecution agreement in exchange for an individual’s cooperation. If an individual does not meet these conditions but still provides significant assistance, prosecutors may consider offering a non-prosecution agreement at their discretion, based on factors such as the seriousness of the offense and the individual’s cooperation, consistent with the already-existing requirements outlined in the Justice Manual.

Exclusions and Risks

The EDNC whistleblower policy does not apply to reported violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), campaign finance violations, federal patronage crimes, election corruption, bribery of federal officials, or federal tax offenses and environmental crimes.

Individuals considering disclosure to the Government under this policy would be wise to consult with an experienced attorney to fully understand the requirements, evaluation process, and obligations. Options for negotiating a non-prosecution agreement may already be available under existing DOJ programs or policies. The new EDNC whistleblower policy does not bind any other prosecutorial district and is careful to disclaim that it does not create any enforceable rights and leaves eligibility determinations strictly to the Government.

Impact Under the New Trump Administration

Although similar, there remain small but important differences within the EDNC Whistleblower Policy and policies within other U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country. Additionally, these individual policies have been rolled out around the same time as the DOJ’s Pilot Program implemented on August 1, 2024, which does provide financial awards for cooperators in eligible cases. As the DOJ under President Trump’s administration takes shape, it is yet to be seen if the focus on increasing prosecution of white collar crime will remain the same as the Biden administration and whether there will be an effort to harmonize these various policies under uniform requirements. Until then, anyone looking to navigate the potential benefits and risks of coming forward under whistleblower protections in the EDNC or elsewhere should work with an experienced attorney.