DOJ's New Charging Guidelines in Corporate Fraud Prosecutions

Paul J. McNulty, Deputy Attorney General, issued new charging guidelines in corporate fraud prosecutions today. Under the old guidelines (the "Thompson Memorandum"), a federal prosecutor, as part of assessing whether a corporation cooperated with a government investigation, could look at "whether the company is paying the attorneys’ fees of individuals alleged to have committed the fraud." According to the Press Release, the new guidelines (which will likely become known as the "McNulty Memorandum")  "generally prohibit prosecutors from considering whether a corporation is advancing attorneys’ fees to employees or agents under investigation or indictment," except in "extremely rare cases": "[F]ee advancement can be considered where the totality of the circumstances show that it was intended to impede a government investigation."

Posted by Mary McCormick