The Justice Department will be making several policy changes when it comes to the federal response to white-collar crime, focusing on corporate misconduct, Politico reported Oct. 28.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told lawyers at the American Bar Association conference in Miami that the department is no longer using a policy that helped companies when they cooperated and identified those who were involved in misconduct.
Corporations will have to own up to all employees who participated in misconduct, and prosecutors will decide who warrants prosecution or should provide testimony against others. She also said the department will crack down on company executives, despite them often resulting in acquittals or dismissals from a strong defense.
When making enforcement decisions, the Justice Department will look at all of a company's prior actions, rather than the previous policy that only observed "similar misconduct."
They will also increase the use of outside monitors to ensure enforced companies have made changes to eliminate misconduct. The department will have a squad of FBI agents in the section that prosecutes criminal fraud.
"Corporate culture matters. A corporate culture that fails to hold individuals accountable, or fails to invest in compliance — or worse, that thumbs its nose at compliance — leads to bad results," Ms. Monaco said at the conference. "Although we understand the costs that enforcement actions can place on shareholders and others, our responsibility is to incentivize responsible corporate citizenship, a culture of compliance and a sense of accountability. So, the Department will not hesitate to take action when necessary to combat corporate wrongdoing."