Varnum Viewpoints:

Whistleblower Scope Expanded: The DOJ now rewards tips on more violations, including immigration and trade, with payouts up to 30% of recoveries.

Individual Focus: The DOJ prioritizes prosecuting individuals, encouraging companies to self-disclose misconduct for leniency.

Enforcement Surge Likely: New whistleblower incentives and the DOJ priorities signal increased investigations, especially in federal programs.

On May 12, 2025, Matthew Galeotti, head of the Department of Justice Criminal Division, issued a memorandum titled “Focus, Fairness, and Efficiency in the Fight against White-Collar Crime,” laying out the Department’s enforcement priorities as they align with the Administration’s agenda. The new enforcement plan reflects longstanding DOJ priorities (including healthcare fraud, market manipulation, and incentivization of voluntary self-disclosure of misconduct) while emphasizing a renewed effort to pursue individual offenders rather than cooperative corporations. 

The broader enforcement plan revisions include changes to the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program (CWAPP). Established under the Biden Administration in August 2024, the CWAPP encourages individuals with knowledge of specific categories of white collar crime to come forward in exchange for financial compensation, provided the information enables the DOJ to recover more than $1 million in civil or criminal forfeiture. The potential awards for whistleblowers are substantial: up to 30 percent of the first $100 million of net proceeds forfeited, and up to 5 percent of net proceeds between $100 million and $500 million.

The eligible categories include violations by financial institutions; violations related to foreign corruption and bribery, including violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; violations by or through companies relating to payment of bribes or kickbacks to domestic public officials; and certain federal health care offenses and frauds related to the health care industry. Whistleblowers are not eligible for an award “if they would be eligible for award through another U.S. government program or statutory whistleblower, qui tam, or similar program if they had reported the same scheme[.]”

The DOJ has expanded the CWAPP program to cover violations committed by or through companies that reflect the Trump administration’s broader policy priorities, including:

• Fraud against the United States in connection with federally funded contracting or programs,
• Trade, tariff, and customs fraud,
• Federal immigration law,
• Sanction offenses,
• Material support of terrorism,
• Crimes involving cartels and transnational criminal organizations, including money laundering, narcotics, and Controlled Substances Act violations.

Updates to Health Care Fraud Coverage in CWAPP

For health care fraud offenses, the revised policy specifically includes federal health care offenses and removes language restricting covered violations to those involving non-public health care programs. On the other hand, it explicitly excludes health care fraud and illegal health care kickbacks from the new provision covering fraud or deception against the United States in connection with federally funded contracts or federal programs. Although these two revisions seem in tension, they likely are intended to maintain consistency with language denying eligibility to whistleblowers who would be eligible for an award through another U.S. whistleblower or qui tam program, such as the False Claims Act (FCA), if they had reported the same scheme. Although the language has changed, there seems to be very little daylight between the prior and revised program when it comes to most fraud violations in the health care industry.

Implications for Companies and Enforcement Trends

The revised program’s inclusion of violations of federal immigration law, procurement and federal program fraud, trade, tariff and customs fraud and violations involving sanctions, material support of terrorism or those facilitating cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations all carry broad implications that companies should be planning for in the immediate future. With employees financially incentivized to report misconduct in these areas, companies may see an uptick in the reporting of misconduct and enforcement by the DOJ.

Moreover, Attorney General Bondi issued a memo on February 5, 2025, designating immigration enforcement a top prosecution priority. In the context of the revised CWAPP, this could carry significant ramifications for employers across the board. Under the new policy, a whistleblower can now file a tip with the DOJ regarding immigration violations in exchange for a significant reward if the DOJ can successfully prosecute and forfeit substantial assets based on the information. Further, the increase in reporting combined with Attorney General Bondi’s expressed commitment to defending the constitutionality of the False Claims Act, and DOJ leadership signaling an interest in aggressively utilizing the FCA, the next three and a half years are likely to see increased investigation and civil enforcement actions, particularly in connection with federal benefits, contracting programs, and international trade.

It is reasonable to anticipate that the new CWAPP policy will lead to increased reporting, investigation, and civil and criminal enforcement actions against both individuals and companies. In another speech on June 10, 2025, Galeotti reported that the DOJ has continued to see “robust tips from whistleblowers,” including tips in each of the new categories. But companies that self-report and cooperate in investigations might still be able to receive declinations of prosecution via the Criminal Division’s revised Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, even where a whistleblower reported the conduct before the company self-disclosed.