January 7, 2010
Although Deferred Prosecution Agreements ("DPAs") and Non-Prosecution Agreements ("NPAs") were rarely used and hardly discussed a decade ago, in the last several years they have become a hot topic and common aspect of corporate prosecutions: Congress, legal academics, and practitioners—from prosecutors to defense counsel—have weighed in on the Department of Justice’s ("DOJ’s") use of the agreements. DPAs and NPAs are types of pre-trial agreements whereby the government agrees not to pursue charges against a corporation so long as the corporation abides by the terms of the agreement. Although often similar in content, the emerging difference between a DPA and an NPA is whether a criminal information is filed in a federal court. With a corporate DPA, the information, as well as the DPA itself, are filed with and must be approved by a federal district court. In contrast, NPAs are typically between the corporation and the government and nothing is filed or approved by a court.
The purpose of DPAs and NPAs is to deter, punish, and reform corporate behavior while limiting the collateral consequences of corporate indictment or conviction, such as a loss of a broker-dealer license, banking license, charter, or deposit insurance; suspension from government contracting; or prohibition from participation in government healthcare programs. It should come as no surprise, then, that the use of DPAs and NPAs increased dramatically following the demise of Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm that imploded after being indicted and convicted of obstruction of justice in 2003. By the time the Supreme Court overturned Arthur Andersen’s conviction, the firm was already out of business. But after five years of steady increase in the use of DPAs and NPAs, DOJ’s use of these agreements the past two years has noticeably decreased. In fact, the eighteen corporate DPAs and NPAs reported during 2009 is the smallest number of agreements entered since 2005, and just under one half the number entered into during 2007, the high water mark to date for DPAs and NPAs.
There are several possible explanations for the recent decrease in DPAs and NPAs as discussed further below. However, the most likely reason for the lower number of agreements is simply the normal ebb and flow of DOJ’s investigation cycle.
Gibson Dunn has represented numerous corporations in negotiating DPAs and NPAs; we also have written extensively regarding the policy considerations and implications of these agreements. Although 2009 witnessed a leveling off of DOJ’s use of DPAs and NPAs compared with prior years, DPAs and NPAs are here to stay as an often-sought alternative resolution for criminal investigations. Accordingly, understanding the latest trends is essential. This client update provides an overview of the 2009 DPAs and NPAs and identifies key trends by analyzing the agreements entered over the previous four years.
Non-Prosecution and Deferred Prosecution Agreements in 2009
DOJ entered into eighteen DPAs and NPAs with corporate entities during 2009—the lowest number of agreements entered into since 2005. Even though this represents a drop of almost fifty percent from the number of agreements entered into during 2007, it is only one less agreement than 2008.[*] The chart below summarizes the number of DPAs and NPAs entered into by DOJ over the past decade.
The second half of 2009 kept pace with the first half, with eight of the eighteen DPAs and NPAs occurring in the second half of the year. In our 2009 Mid-Year Update, we described the ten reported DPAs and NPAs that DOJ entered into during the first half of the year. The second half of 2009 brought five additional NPAs and three DPAs—three for FCPA violations, one for internet gambling, one for violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA"), one for healthcare fraud, and two for immigration violations. This is consistent with the types of DPAs and NPAs that were agreed to in the first half of the year. While there were two tax fraud DPAs or NPAs in the first half of the year, there were no additional agreements for that offense in the second half of 2009.
The chart below summarizes all of 2009’s federal corporate DPAs and NPAs.
2009 Federal Corporate Deferred and Non Prosecution Agreements |
|||||
Corporation |
Violation |
Total Monetary Penalty * |
Type |
Monitor |
Term |
AGCO Corp. |
FCPA |
$1.6 million |
DPA |
No |
3 years |
Beazer Homes USA, Inc. |
Mortgage Fraud |
$10 to 50 million |
DPA |
No |
5 years |
Columbia Farms, Inc. |
Immigration Violations |
$1.5 million |
DPA |
No |
2 years |
Credit Suisse |
International Emergency Economic Powers Act |
$268 million |
DPA |
No |
2 years |
Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. |
Tax Fraud |
$1,168,141 |
DPA |
No ** |
~32 months |
Halliburton Company |
FCPA |
None |
NPA |
No |
2 years |
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. |
FCPA |
$1 million |
NPA |
No |
2 years |
Lloyds TSB |
International Emergency Economic Powers Act |
$175 million |
DPA |
No |
2 years |
NeuroMetrix, Inc. |
Healthcare Fraud |
$1.2 million |
NPA |
No ** |
3 years |
Novo Nordisk A/S |
FCPA |
$9 million |
DPA |
No |
3 years |
Optimal Group, Inc. |
Internet Gambling |
$19,182,418 |
NPA |
No |
3 years |
PartyGaming PLC |
Internet Gambling |
$105 million |
NPA |
No |
No set term |
Pilgrim’s Pride, Inc. |
Immigration Violations |
$4.5 million |
NPA |
No |
5 years |
Quest Diagnostics |
Health Care Fraud |
None |
NPA |
No ** |
5 years |
Spectranetics |
Healthcare Fraud |
None |
NPA |
No** |
2 years |
UBS AG |
Tax Fraud |
$780 million |
DPA |
No ** |
At least 18 months |
UTStarcom, Inc. |
FCPA |
$1.5 million |
NPA |
No |
3 years |
WellCare Health Plans |
Healthcare Fraud |
$80 million |
DPA |
Yes |
3 years |
* Only includes monetary penalties included in the agreement itself, not all monetary penalties arising out of the same facts that gave rise to the agreement. Information on all monetary penalties can be found in Appendix A. ** These DPAs do not provide for an independent "monitor," but they do provide for some form monitor-like supervision. More information on these provisions can be found in Appendix A. |
Trends in Deferred and Non-Prosecution Agreements
Although eighteen agreements is a modest sample size, these agreements still provide a basis for some analysis of DOJ’s use of DPAs and NPAs within the context of the last few years.
The sections of DOJ that entered into DPAs and NPAs during 2009 are consistent with past years. In 2009, Main Justice and the various U.S. Attorney’s Offices entered into approximately equal numbers of agreements, with seven solely by Main Justice and eight solely by U.S. Attorney’s Offices. In 2008 half of the agreements were entered into by Main Justice and the other half were entered into by U.S. Attorney’s Offices. During 2009 there were also three agreements entered into jointly by Main Justice and a U.S. Attorney’s Office. While no agreements were entered jointly in 2008, the practice of joint agreements was not uncommon in prior years.
As in past years, DOJ’s Fraud Section was the leader in entering into DPAs and NPAs during 2009, with five agreements. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, historically a leader in DPAs and NPAs, entered into two agreements in 2009. Nine other U.S. Attorney’s Offices entered into one agreement each.
In 2009, half (nine) of the agreements were DPAs while half (nine) were NPAs. This is in contrast to 2008 when thirteen of the nineteen agreements (sixty-eight percent) were DPAs and only six (thirty-two percent) were NPAs. The rise in the number of NPAs could signal that more companies are self-reporting suspected violations, especially in the FCPA context. In recent years, senior DOJ officials have repeatedly encouraged companies to voluntarily disclose suspected FCPA violations through promises of more lenient treatment. In November 2009, Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General, stated that "voluntary disclosure may result in no action being taken against a company, or the company may secure other preferred dispositions. . . ." In fact, it appears at least initially that DOJ is more likely to grant an NPA to a company that self discloses. Of the FCPA cases since 2004 involving a company that did not self disclose, only thirty percent resulted in an NPA, whereas fifty nine percent of the cases in which a company self-disclosed resulted in that favorable resolution.
For several years now, DOJ’s most prevalent use of DPAs and NPAs has been to resolve allegations of FCPA violations and healthcare fraud; 2009 was no exception. This past year, FCPA violations and healthcare fraud accounted for fifty percent of the total agreements—nine of eighteen. This percentage is slightly higher than in 2008, when only forty-two percent of the agreements resolved FCPA violations or healthcare fraud, largely due to a much smaller number of healthcare cases that year. In 2007 FCPA violations and healthcare fraud totaled fifty-three percent of the agreements.
The charts below set forth the types of violations that resulted in DPAs and NPAs over the previous four years, which covers over ninety percent of the agreements entered into this decade. A careful review of these charts reveals some trends in the types of offenses for which DOJ enters DPAs and NPAs.
In 2006, DOJ entered into DPAs and NPAs for a large number of varying types of offenses; no single offense constituted more than eighteen percent of the total. There were two DPAs or NPAs involving FCPA offenses, and only one agreement involving healthcare fraud. The most prevalent use of DPAs and NPAs in 2006 was for accounting fraud offenses, which is not surprising given the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley just four years earlier. There was also one agreement each related to tax fraud, immigration violations, and internet gambling, and two agreements related to money laundering. Each of these types of offenses appears frequently, though in low numbers, in the following years.
In 2007, FCPA offenses and healthcare fraud came to the forefront, accounting for twenty-six percent and twenty-seven percent, respectively, of the total agreements entered for that year, and a combined fifty-three percent of the total. As in 2006 there was a wide variety of DPAs and NPAs for other offenses, including internet gambling, money laundering, and tax fraud.
In 2008, there was a decrease in the variety of offenses resolved by DPAs and NPAs. In 2006 there were fifteen separate types of offenses, while in 2008 there were only nine. Violations of the FCPA made up the single largest category of violations in 2008. As in past years, DOJ also entered into DPAs and NPAs for immigration violations, money laundering, and internet gambling.
In 2009, DOJ entered into DPAs and NPAs for only seven different types of offenses, which is even less variety than previous years. As in past years, in addition to FCPA and healthcare fraud DPAs and NPAs, there were also agreements involving internet gambling, tax fraud, and immigration offenses. DOJ also entered into DPAs and NPAs for some new offenses in 2009; for example, the first agreement related to mortgage fraud, which is likely to become more prevalent in the future given the government’s focus on the role of mortgage fraud in the recent economic downturn. Additionally, DOJ entered into two DPAs for violations of the IEEPA, which did not occur in any prior years.
One significant trend in DPAs and NPAs in 2009 is the large monetary penalties DOJ assessed as a part of these agreements. The largest monetary penalty in 2008 was $75 million against Milberg Weiss. In 2009, however, there were five DPAs or NPAs with penalties greater than $75 million—UBS, $780 million; Credit Suisse, $268 million; Lloyds TSB, $175 million; Party Gaming, $105 million; and WellCare, $80 million. In fact, the $780 million penalty assessed against UBS for tax fraud is almost three times more than the total penalties assessed in all DPAs and NPAs during 2008. And the three highest monetary penalties assessed during 2009 were against foreign owned banks—UBS, Credit Suisse, and Lloyds TSB—for alleged tax fraud and violation of the IEEPA. These extremely high monetary penalties were primarily due to companies agreeing to large forfeiture amounts, presumably because of DOJ’s insistence on pursuing restitution as part of DPAs and NPAs.
This year also brought about the largest criminal fine ever assessed when Pfizer subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Co., Inc. pleaded guilty to off label marketing of one of its drugs and agreed to pay $1.3 billion in fines and forfeiture. Even though Pfizer agreed to pay an additional $1 billion to settle civil False Claims Act charges related to the same off label marketing (as well as for several other drugs), the parent corporation did not enter into a DPA or an NPA related to this conduct.
Another recurring trend in 2009 is a continued standardization of the content of DPAs and NPAs. As reported in our 2008 Year-End Update and our 2009 Mid-Year Update, the terms and conditions of DPAs and NPAs have become more homogenous over the past few years. In 2009, the vast majority of DPAs and NPAs contained provisions: (1) requiring the company to continue to cooperate with DOJ during any ongoing investigation; (2) prohibiting the company for making any statement that contradicts the facts as laid out in the agreement; and (3) giving DOJ sole discretion to determine whether the agreement has been breached by the company. Consistent with DOJ guidelines released in 2008 which bar the practice of extraordinary restitution, no DPA or NPA entered into during 2009 required a corporation to give a monetary donation to an uninjured third-party. Also consistent with DOJ guidelines released in 2008 respecting the protection of attorney-client privilege, no DPA or NPA entered into during 2009 contains an explicit waiver of the privilege, and the vast majority explicitly reserve the privilege. Although Congressman Frank Pallone re-introduced legislation in April 2009 which would restrict DOJ’s use and negotiation of DPAs and NPAs, Congress has not acted on the legislation, and it remains in committee. Nor, to date, has Attorney General Holder issued any new guidance relating to DPAs and NPAs.
The trend of including DPA-like terms in NPAs, first identified in our 2009 Mid-Year Update, continued throughout the second half of the year as well. For example, the Optimal Group NPA included provisions: (1) requiring the company to continue to cooperate with any DOJ investigation, including handing over non-privileged documents at the request of DOJ; and (2) prohibiting the company from making any public statement contradicting the facts in the NPA—both standard terms in DPAs. The NPA entered into by UTStarcom and DOJ Fraud Section contained similar provisions, and additionally required the company to "strengthen its compliance, bookkeeping, and internal controls standards and procedures" as described in the agreement. Helmerich & Payne’s NPA also included similar DPA-like provisions, including a requirement that the company strengthen its compliance program and report periodically to DOJ on such program.
As NPAs become longer and more detailed, the differences between DPAs and NPAs continue to diminish. Of course, there remain significant advantages to NPAs: Most notably, with an NPA, DOJ decides not to prosecute, rather than to file criminal charges but defer prosecution pending compliance with the terms of the agreement. Corporations continue to seek NPAs to avoid any criminal charges, which is understandably viewed more favorably than when a company is charged with a crime, but ultimately reaches an agreement to defer prosecution. Another advantage of NPAs is that they do not require court approval or judicial scrutiny.
Decreasing DPAs and NPAs Reflect the Normal Prosecution Cycle
There are a number of factors that may be contributing to the falling number of DPAs and NPAs over the past two years. For example, Main Justice may be using these agreements more sparingly while the new administration considers how DPAs and NPAs fit into its prosecution philosophy. But the most likely explanation for the decreased use of DPAs and NPAs is simply the normal ebb and flow of DOJ’s investigation cycle. Corporate criminal investigations follow observable trends. According to data generated from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, corporate arrests often surge in the years following highly-publicized events, such as the dot-com bust and Enron scandal in the early 2000s.[†] Recently, DOJ has placed particular emphasis on investigating and prosecuting FCPA violations and healthcare fraud. And although DPAs and NPAs are consistently entered to resolve a wide variety of alleged violations, as the two charts below illustrate, the total number of DPAs and NPAs each year is largely a function of the total number of DPAs and NPAs for FCPA and healthcare fraud offenses.
The exceedingly large number of DPAs and NPAs during 2007 is primarily the result of numerous agreements related to two large DOJ investigations—the FCPA Oil-for-Food investigations and healthcare fraud investigations into orthopedics manufacturers. In fact, five of the ten FCPA related DPAs or NPAs in 2007 stemmed from the Oil-for-Food investigation. In addition, DOJ entered into five DPAs resulting from its investigation into the manufacture of orthopedic devices. Taking this into account, it seems likely that the high number of DPAs and NPAs in 2007 was a statistical outlier, and the lower number of agreements during the past two years represents a return to normalcy in the number of agreements entered each year.
That said, the Obama Administration and DOJ have expressed their intent to continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute both FCPA violations and healthcare fraud: In November 2009, a senior DOJ official stated that there would be an increase in investigations and prosecutions for FCPA violations in the pharmaceutical industry in the coming years. And the energetic and articulate head of DOJ Criminal Division, Lanny A. Breuer, announced in December that DOJ will expand its Medicare Fraud Strike Force into new districts, working in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in those districts. Breuer also announced plans to significantly increase the Fraud Division, which, as noted above, has historically been the leader in negotiating DPAs and NPAs. Given DOJ’s stated intention to aggressively pursue FCPA and healthcare fraud offenses, we expect that the number of DPAs and NPAs will follow DOJ’s investigative cycle, with spikes such as those seen in 2007 following an increase in the number of investigations.
Alternatives to Corporate Monitors
Although the debate surrounding the use of corporate monitors in DPAs and NPAs continued during 2009, with Congress holding hearings on the role of monitors in DPAs in June, to date, nothing has come of those Congressional hearings. And although the GAO Report discussed in our 2009 Mid-Year Update concluded that DOJ should adopt internal procedures requiring prosecutors to document the reasons for requiring a monitor and the justification for the selection of a specific monitor, DOJ has yet to release any new guidance on monitors since the Morford Memorandum in 2008.
One byproduct of the scrutiny involving corporate monitors has been a significant drop during 2009 in the number of DPAs requiring the appointment of a corporate monitor. Only one DPA out the eighteen agreements this year contained a requirement for an independent monitor. In contrast, in 2006 ten out of twenty-one DPAs required monitors. As the chart below illustrates, the proportion of DPAs or NPAs that require a monitor has been dropping every year since 2006.
The lack of a corporate-monitor requirement in 2009 is particularly notable in the FCPA and healthcare fraud DPAs and NPAs. During 2009, none of the DPAs or NPAs for FCPA violations required a corporate monitor—a significant departure from 2008 when three of the seven DPAs contained a monitor requirement.
There are several factors that are likely contributing to the decrease in the use of monitors. One major factor is that during negotiations with DOJ, corporations are now advocating for alternative monitoring arrangements, such as self-monitoring, as a way to minimize the costs of an outside monitor while still providing DOJ the oversight that it seeks. This may reflect prior debate surrounding how monitors are appointed and concerns regarding the cost of corporate monitors. The drop in the number of monitors may also be attributed to a decrease in the types of violations (i.e., the extent and category) for which DOJ believes monitors will benefit corporate reform. For example, the lack of monitors for FCPA violations during 2009 may be attributed to DOJ’s perception that the offenses were less systematic than in previous years, and/or the companies’ proactive and substantial improvements of their compliance programs and internal control environments. As Gibson Dunn has long advocated, a company that institutes early and broad corporate compliance reform may be more likely to persuade DOJ that an outside monitor is not required. In this regard, it is also relevant that all of the agreements entered into during 2008 for FCPA violations were DPAs, while half of the agreements entered into during 2009 were NPAs, which less frequently have a monitor requirement.
Although only one DPA in 2009 contained a requirement for a true external "monitor," several agreements contained monitor-like provisions calling for independent confirmation of compliance with the agreements. As a part of its DPA, UBS agreed to hire an "independent accounting or other appropriate firm" to conduct testing and issue reports on UBS’s exit from its cross-border business, and to implement internal controls related to cross-border business. Much like a corporate monitor, the reports of the independent firm are to be submitted to DOJ and the Audit Committee of UBS. In several instances this year, DOJ agreed to allow the companies to self-monitor—i.e., report to DOJ on the implementation of their improved compliance policies without the need for an external monitor. For example, in the Fisher Sand & Gravel DPA the company agreed to appoint a Compliance Officer to function much like a Compliance Officer in any corporation, save for the fact that the Compliance Office is required to provide periodic reports to DOJ, in addition to corporate management. The Helmerich & Payne and UTStarcom NPAs both contained similar terms, where DOJ agreed to allow the companies to self-monitor and self-report to DOJ on the implementation of their improved compliance policies.
All of the NPAs for healthcare fraud in 2009 required that the company enter a Corporate Integrity Agreement ("CIA") with the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS-OIG"). CIAs have been common for years in the resolution of False Claims Act violations in the healthcare field. In fact, as a term of its 2009 civil settlement for off label marketing, Pfizer agreed to enter into a CIA with the HHS-OIG. The terms of CIAs are increasingly monitor-like in that they require the creation or improvement of a corporate compliance program, but rather than being overseen by a third-party who reports to the government, they are overseen by the HHS-OIG. Whereas previously CIAs were used strictly in civil settlements, they are increasingly used in the resolution of criminal cases as well. As reported in our Mid-Year Update, NeuroMetrix’s and Quest Diagnostics both agreed as a part of their NPAs to enter into a five-year CIA with the HHS-OIG. In December 2009, Spectranetics also entered into an NPA (with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado) that contained a CIA requirement.
Conclusion
Although 2009 saw a slight decrease in DPAs and NPAs for the second straight year, these agreements still provide insights into what to expect from DOJ in the future. It appears likely that DOJ’s slightly restrained use of DPAs and NPAs this year resulted from the resolution of several programmatic investigations involving FCPA and healthcare-related offenses. DOJ’s public declaration to vigorously pursue FCPA and healthcare fraud, coupled with increased staffing in pursuit of that mission, makes it likely that the number of DPAs and NPAs in coming years will remain steady or increase in response to DOJ’s increased investigations. It is too early to tell whether the use of corporate monitors will permanently decrease, to be replaced by alternative arrangements, or whether DOJ will determine that the use of monitors remains the most effective manner for it to maintain visibility into a company’s compliance program and encourage corporate-culture reform. In any event, companies who cooperate fully with a DOJ investigation and exhibit a strong culture of compliance will be in the best position to avoid a corporate–monitor requirement. In negotiating the resolution of a criminal investigation with DOJ, corporations must seriously consider alternative monitoring approaches as a way to minimize costs, while still providing DOJ the information that it needs to ensure that the company’s compliance program is on track.
The White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP successfully defends corporations, senior corporate executives, and public officials in a wide range of federal and state investigations and prosecutions, and conducts sensitive internal investigations for leading companies in almost every business sector. The Group has members in every domestic office of the Firm and draws on more than 75 attorneys with deep government experience, including numerous former federal and state prosecutors and officials, many of whom served at high levels within the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Joe Warin, a former federal prosecutor, currently serves as the U.S. counsel for the compliance monitor for Siemens, and recently completed his role as the monitor for Statoil pursuant to a DOJ and SEC enforcement action. Debra Wong Yang is the former United States Attorney for the Central District of California, and recently completed her role as a monitor pursuant to a DOJ enforcement action.
Washington, D.C.
F. Joseph Warin (202-887-3609, [email protected])
John H. Sturc (202-955-8243, [email protected])
Barry Goldsmith (202-955-8580, [email protected])
David P. Burns (202-887-3786, [email protected])
David Debold (202-955-8551, [email protected])
Brian C. Baldrate (202-887-3717, [email protected])
New York
Joel M. Cohen (212-351-2664, [email protected])
Lee G. Dunst (212-351-3824, [email protected])
Christopher M. Joralemon (212-351-2668, [email protected])
Mark A. Kirsch (212-351-2662, [email protected])
Randy M. Mastro (213-351-3825, [email protected])
Marc K. Schonfeld (212-351-2433, [email protected])
Orin Snyder (212-351-2400, [email protected])
Alexander H. Southwell (212-351-3981, [email protected])
Jim Walden (212-351-2300, [email protected])
Lawrence J. Zweifach (212-351-2625, [email protected])
Denver
Robert C. Blume (303-298-5758, [email protected])
Orange County
Nicola T. Hanna (949-451-4270, [email protected])
Los Angeles
Debra Wong Yang (213-229-7472, [email protected])
Marcellus McRae (213-229-7675, [email protected])
Michael M. Farhang (213-229-7005, [email protected])
Douglas Fuchs (213-229-7605, [email protected])
© 2010 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
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Appendix A: Deferred and Non-Prosecution Agreements Entered Into During 2009
AGCO Corp. September 30, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Beazer Homes USA, Inc. July 1, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Additional
Columbia Farms, Inc. November 2, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Credit Suisse AG December 16, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Additional
Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. May 1, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Additional
Halliburton Company February 10, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of NPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. July 29, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of NPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Lloyds TSB January 9, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Additional
NeuroMetrix, Inc. February 9, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Novo Nordisk A/S May 6, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Additional
Optimal Group, Inc. October 30, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of NPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
PartyGaming PLC April 6, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of NPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Additional
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. December 30, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of NPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Quest Diagnostics April 15, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of NPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Spectranetics Corp. December 17, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of NPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
UBS AG February 18, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Additional
UTStarcom, Inc. December 31, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of NPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. May 5, 2009
DOJ Office
Allegations
Length of DPA
Penalties
Revised Compliance Program
Monitor
[*] Our 2008 year-end update reported thirty-eight DPAs and NPAs in 2007 and seventeen DPAs and NPAs in 2008. We have since learned of other NPAs during those years. Because NPAs are not filed with a court, we occasionally learn of new NPAs during our ongoing research of the agreements. We will continue to revise our statistics to account for all new NPAs.
DOJ is not the only law enforcement agency that utilizes DPAs and NPAs in conjunction with corporate investigations; state Attorneys General, the SEC, the FTC, as well as other government agencies also use corporate equivalents. This client update addresses only DPAs and NPAs entered into by DOJ, excluding DOJ’s Antitrust Division, which has an official and well-recognized amnesty policy.
[†] National White Collar Crime Center, White Collar Crime Statistics (October 2009), available at http://www.nw3c.org/research/visitor_form_val.cfm.