Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco's Keynote Remarks at the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime included the following remarks:
Our first priority has been — and will continue to be — individual accountability. Companies can only act through individuals.
Going back to the days of “Wanted” posters across the Old West, law enforcement has long offered rewards to coax tipsters out of the woodwork. And today, we’re announcing a program to update how DOJ uses monetary rewards to strengthen our corporate enforcement efforts.
So we’re planning something new: a DOJ-run whistleblower rewards program. Today, we’re launching a 90-day sprint to develop and implement a pilot program, with a formal start date later this year.
It’s important to underscore a central aspect of all whistleblower programs. To be eligible for a reward, you have to tell us something we didn’t already know. You have to be the first in the door.
When everyone needs to be first in the door, no one wants to be second—regardless of whether they’re an innocent whistleblower, a potential defendant looking to minimize criminal exposure, or the audit committee of a company where the misconduct took place.
Compliance officers should take note. When our prosecutors assess a company’s compliance program — as they do in all corporate resolutions — they consider how well the program mitigates the company’s most significant risks. And for a growing number of businesses, that now includes the risk of misusing AI.
That’s why, going forward and wherever applicable, our prosecutors will assess a company’s ability to manage AI-related risks as part of its overall compliance efforts.
To that end, I have directed the Criminal Division to incorporate assessment of disruptive technology risks — including risks associated with AI — into its guidance on Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.
First, we’re continuing to execute on our core strategy: invest the most significant resources in the most serious cases; hold individuals accountable; and pursue tough penalties for repeat offenders.
Second, we’re using carrots and sticks to encourage companies to step up and own up and report misconduct to the government. With a first-in-the-door strategy, we’re making clear that neither companies nor individuals can afford to sit on evidence of wrongdoing.
Third, we’re designing our own whistleblower rewards program, as part of our broader effort to fill gaps and innovate in this space. Stay tuned.
And finally, we’re applying DOJ tools to new, disruptive technologies — like addressing the rise of AI through our existing sentencing guidelines and corporate enforcement programs.
We shouldn’t be in the business of doing successive DPAs [deferred prosecution agreements] or NPAs [nonprosecution agreements] one after the other after the other,” said Marshall Miller, principal associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, speaking at the American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri Keynote Speech
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen Keynote Speech
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