Phillips & Cohen partner Erika Kelton talks to Law 360 avout the Department of Justice’s new whistleblower program.
Erika A. Kelton, a partner at the whistleblower firm Phillips & Cohen LLP, called the new program “a game changer in the war against foreign corruption and financial fraud,” but she questioned the caps on whistleblower awards. Limiting award amounts may encourage employees to stay silent, “particularly because the larger the recovery may also increase the risks,” Kelton said.
“Whistleblowers with information about massive frauds should be the people DOJ wants to attract. By putting limits on their recovery they risk losing them as whistleblowers,” Kelton said in a Thursday statement. “Moreover, the income of CEOs of companies that are perpetrating massive schemes have never been limited, so it is puzzling that the Justice Department would want to place limits on awards to those who exposed grave wrongdoing.”
Read the entire article,“DOJ Unveils Whistleblower Pilot, But Garners Atty Criticism” at Law 360, August 1, 2024.