Virginia whistleblower program encourages self-disclosure of crimes

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A pilot program in Virginia is encouraging people to blow the whistle on their own criminal conduct.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) on Saturday announced the new EDVA Whistleblower Non-Prosecution Pilot Program. The pilot is designed to encourage early and voluntary self-disclosure of certain non-violent crimes in exchange for no prosecution — as long as certain conditions are met.

“Our new Whistleblower Program emphasizes our continued focus on fraud and public corruption cases,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber. “We encourage people to come forward, report these crimes, and cooperate with us."

The conditions for immunity to prosecution under this program include the requirement that the crime was neither previously made public, nor already known to the government. Eligible disclosure cannot be made once an official inquiry or investigation has begun, and the confessed crime must relate to the actions of people who are equally or more culpable than the whistleblower. The disclosure also must be complete, with no hidden details. 

"In exchange for this information and ongoing cooperation, we promise that eligible whistleblowers will not be prosecuted. And if you choose not to come forward, someone else might,” Aber said.  

Elected federal or foreign officials, as well as federal law enforcement officials, are not eligible for the program. Officers with primary control over operations of the public or private organization where the crime occured are also ineligible. 

Whistleblowers must give up any benefit or profit they gained through the the crime(s), and "make restitution commensurate with their role in the offense," per the program guidelines.

The EDVA hopes timely and actionable confessions could help better protect communities.

The EDVA says this pilot program is different from the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program led by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. While EDVA’s program is for people who knowingly participated in crimes and face criminal liability, the Justice Department program is for people who did not meaningfully engage in crimes within specific subject areas. 

You can learn more about the Whistleblower Non-Prosecution Pilot Program on the EDVA website here.