Calling (Some But Not All) Whistleblowers: Understanding SDNY's New Whistleblower Pilot Program

On January 10, 2024, US Attorney Damian Williams announced a new Whistleblower Pilot Program for the US Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York (SDNY). The program is designed to proactively uncover criminal conduct and boost enforcement efforts by encouraging individuals to self-disclose criminal conduct. Provided certain conditions are met, a self-disclosing individual will be eligible for a non-prosecution agreement (NPA), pursuant to which the SDNY would agree not to prosecute that individual for the disclosed conduct. Traditional whistleblower programs, administered by agencies like the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), encourage individuals to report credible information of illegal activity by offering the opportunity for financial rewards, which can be substantial, for whistleblowers under the right circumstances, as