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Disclosure to Public Officials Is Not "Public": Relator to Have Yet Another Day in Court

Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.05.15

The "long and winding road" of U.S. ex rel. Wilson v. Graham County, which has twice taken it to the Supreme Court and back, will continue on remand after the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal for want of jurisdiction. Siding with five other circuits in a rebuke of the Seventh Circuit's holding in U.S. v. Bank of Farmington that disclosure to a "competent" public official authorized to act on the information was sufficient to trigger the FCA's public disclosure bar, the Fourth Circuit ruled instead that information shared within the government, even between federal, state, and local agencies, has not reached the public domain, notwithstanding its availability through a public records request.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.23.24

DOJ Promises NPAs to Certain Individuals Through New Voluntary Self-Disclosure Pilot Program

On April 15, 2024, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Nicole Argentieri announced a new Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosure for Individuals (“Pilot Program” or “Program”). The Pilot Program offers a clear path for voluntary self-disclosure by certain corporate executives and other individuals who are themselves involved in misconduct by corporations, in exchange for a Non-Prosecution Agreement (“NPA”). The Pilot Program specifically targets individuals who disclose to the Criminal Division at DOJ in Washington, D.C. information about certain corporate criminal conduct. By carving out a clear path to non-prosecution for those who qualify, DOJ has created another tool to uncover complex crimes that might not otherwise be reported to the Department. ...