[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] on Wednesday unveiled a new policy [text, PDF] for white-collar crimes, which targets individuals accused of crimes instead of the companies. The guidelines were sent [USA Today report] to all US Attorneys effective immediately. Previously, the DOJ made a priority of targeting corporations because it allowed larger financial recovery. Companies will now be required to turn in any employees accused of illegal activity in order to earn any credit for cooperation. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates [official profile], speaking at New York University Law School, said [remarks] that Americans should not be under the impression that any individuals would go unpunished for crimes just because they acted on behalf of a corporation and spoke of the importance of public perception towards fairness in the criminal justice system. Other benefits to the new policy, Yates said, are that it will deter illegal activity and encourage companies to change their behavior.

Many fraud cases continue to be litigated in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered [JURIST report] Bank of America [corporate website] to pay $727 million for its illegal credit card practices. The DOJ criticized [JURIST report] the US Sentencing Commission in March after a federal panel introduced a proposal which would reduce prison time for white-collar criminals. Last July Citigroup, Inc. [corporate website] agreed [JURIST report] to pay USD $7 billion to settle a federal inquiry into mortgage-backed securities sold by the bank prior to the financial crisis. The US Supreme Court [official website] granted certiorari [JURIST report] in April to hear a mortgage lending case in which Countrywide failed to provide required information and the borrowers attempted to rescind the loan. In February the Supreme Court heard oral arguments [JURIST report] on a subprime mortgage fraud case. Earlier that month JPMorgan Chase [corporate website] paid [JURIST report] a USD $614 million settlement to the US government for its role in approving unqualified mortgages for government insurance.