Insight from Eric Pruitt Included in Law360 Article About DOJ Action Under New Fraud Self-Disclosure Policy
Eric Pruitt, a Quarles & Brady partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group and chair of the Government Enforcement Defense and Investigations team, was quoted in a Law360 article about a decision by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to indict an executive on fraud charges but not the company, because it self-reported.
For the first time under a new policy designed to encourage companies to self-report and cooperate with federal investigators, the DOJ declined criminal charges against a New Jersey optometry practice but moved forward with a seven-count indictment against the company’s CEO., who is accused of a kickback scheme involving Medicare fraud.
Pruitt said the decision in this situation is in line with the direction the DOJ has been moving in recent years. An excerpt:
In March, the DOJ announced its new corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters. The 10-page policy outlines that it will decline to prosecute companies that voluntarily disclose misconduct. The policy also said it would allow prosecutorial discretion when aggravating circumstances are present.
"Under the more forgiving approach to aggravating factors, it did result in a declination here despite those aggravating factors being present," Pruitt said.
…
Quarles & Brady's Pruitt said that the approach toward prosecuting individuals is consistent with the current and past administrations.
There is a "greater emphasis on individual accountability for the individual wrongdoers and individuals who are designing and engaging in the fraud, rather than taking punitive action against the entire company," he said.