The Attorney General’s Office is offering a reward up to $25,000 reward for tips from the public leading to a conviction for a crime involving public corruption.

Scope

Corruption crimes covered by the Anti-Corruption Reward Program are limited to crimes involving bribery and corrupt influence under N.J.S.A. 2C:27-1, et seq.; crimes involving misconduct in or the abuse of office under N.J.S.A. 2C:30-1, et seq.; crimes involving false claims relating to government contacts under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-34; crimes involving theft under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-1, et seq., which relate to government entities, contracts, or funds; or any other crimes involving government contracts, government funds, or election funds.

Construction

The Anti-Corruption Reward Program shall be liberally construed in order to achieve the criminal justice purpose of fighting corruption crimes in the State of New Jersey, and may be relaxed in the discretion of the Attorney General or designee in order to effectuate this stated purpose.

Funding

All funding for this Reward Program shall be subject to availability and will come from the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Forfeiture Account (AGLEFA), pursuant to all applicable guidelines and procedures. 

Reporting procedure

Individuals may report information and apply for a reward under the Anti-Corruption Reward Program by one of the following methods:

• Call the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) statewide Corruption Tipline:1-844-OPIA-TIP (1-844-674-2847) to leave a message for a detective 24/7 and your call will be promptly returned;
• Visit www.njdcj.org to submit an online report and apply for entry into the program;
• Write directly to OPIA at the following address:

New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety
Division of Criminal Justice
Office of Public Integrity and Accountability
25 Market Street
P.O. Box 085
Trenton, NJ 08625-0085
ATTENTION: Anti-Corruption Reward Program/OPIA

Reward application procedure

• In order to be eligible to receive a reward, an applicant shall complete a Reward Application Form prescribed by OPIA.  The Reward Application Form must be completed in its entirety, signed by the person seeking the reward and notarized.  The Reward Application Form must be mailed to OPIA at the above address.
• The person submitting the application may, at the discretion of OPIA, be interviewed by OPIA with regard to the information the applicant is submitting for consideration.  An applicant may also be required to give his or her verbal statement under oath and sign a written memorialization of his or her statement.
• The Reward Application Form may be obtained by requesting such form by the same methods as reporting, listed above. 
• OPIA shall acknowledge receipt of an application in writing, via email or mail.

Timely filing of applications for reward
In all cases where material information is provided by a person without the simultaneous filing of a Reward Application Form, OPIA shall advise the person of the Reward Program and that the person may file an application for reward consideration no later than 30 days from the date on which the person initially provided information to DCJ.

Confidentiality

• Upon request of an applicant at the time the application is made, OPIA and any other governmental agency involved in the criminal proceeding shall not disclose the identity of the applicant, subject to any statute, rule of Court or judicial decision to the contrary which may require divulgence of such identity to certain parties including, in certain circumstances, a criminal defendant.
• All information, reports, applications or other documentation received or maintained by OPIA pursuant to this program are confidential criminal investigatory records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq., and shall not be subject to public access.

Eligibility for a reward

• OPIA may pay a reward upon the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of a person(s) or entity(ies) for a corruption crime.  “Conviction” means the entry of a judgment of conviction at the time sentence is imposed by the court.
• A person who provides material information under this Reward Program and submits a timely Reward Application Form may be eligible for a reward if the information:
  1. Leads to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a specific individual(s) or entity(ies) for specified conduct occurring during a particular time period, as detailed in the Reward Program Application; or
  2. Directly leads to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of other individual(s) or other entity(ies) for specified conduct occurring during a particular time period as detailed in the Reward Program Application submitted by the person.
• OPIA shall not pay a reward for information relating to an individual or entity that, at the time the information is provided, is already the subject of a referral to OPIA; is already the subject of an investigation by OPIA; or is already the subject of an investigation by any Division of the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety or any other Federal, State, County or Municipal Agency.

Determination and notification of eligibility for reward

• Upon the conviction of a person or entity who has committed a corruption crime, and exhaustion of all direct appeals, OPIA shall, within 90 days, or as soon thereafter as practicable, notify the applicant of OPIA’s determination of the eligibility of an applicant for a reward.
• Written notification shall contain the specific reasons for a determination and inform the applicant that:
  1. There is an insufficient relationship between the information provided and the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the individual(s) or entities named in the matter and the applicant is not eligible for a reward;
  2. The information provided was material to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the individual(s) or entities named in the matter and the applicant is eligible for a reward; or
  3. There is a need for further examination of the application necessitating a written response and/or personal appearance of the applicant for further information before a determination as to eligibility can be made.

Persons not eligible for a reward
The following persons are NOT eligible to receive a reward through this Program:

1. An individual who was or is an immediate family member of an officer or employee of DCJ or OPIA, or any individual working on behalf of OPIA or who is an immediate family member of an individual working on behalf of OPIA at the time he or she came into possession of, or divulged, information leading to an arrest, prosecution and conviction;
2. Any other Federal, State, County or Municipal employee, contractor or grantee, if the information submitted came to their knowledge in the course of their official duties and they have an official duty to report same;
3. An individual or entity that participated in or facilitated the offense with respect to which payment of the reward would be made; or
4.  An individual or entity that knowingly provides false information to OPIA.

Post-determination Claims: payment of rewards

• Within 45 days of receipt of a notification of reward eligibility pursuant to this Reward Program, the applicant shall make a claim for such reward by forwarding to OPIA a written acknowledgment of the notification on a form prescribed by OPIA, a request for the reward, and the name and address to which the reward should be delivered.
• No reward shall exceed $25,000 per incidence of corruption crime; if more than one individual or entity is eligible to receive a reward in a particular case, the Attorney General or designee, in his or her discretion, shall allocate the total reward amount among the eligible claimants.
• All reward payments shall be issued as promptly as possible and shall be reported to the appropriate State and Federal taxing authorities as required by law.  Applicants shall provide all information necessary to make such payment and report.
• No OPIA employee shall make an offer or promise or otherwise bind OPIA with respect to payment of any reward or the amount of the reward.
• If, after a reward is accepted, OPIA finds that the recipient was ineligible to receive the reward, OPIA shall not be liable for the reward and the recipient shall refund all monies received to OPIA.
• Reward amounts are not transferable or assignable.

Multiple applications

• In cases where two or more applicants submit substantially identical material information which results in the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a person(s) or entity(ies) that  have committed a corruption crime, subject to the discretion of the Attorney General or designee, only the eligible person/entity who has filed his/ her/its application first in time shall be considered for the receipt of a reward. 
• In cases where two or more eligible applicants submit different information which materially results in the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a person(s) who has committed a corruption crime, thereby rendering both applicants eligible for a reward, the Attorney General or designee, in his or her discretion, may apportion the amount of the reward among the eligible applicants based upon consideration of relevant factors including, but not limited to: 
• The timing of each application filed;
• The overall accuracy of the material information provided ; and
• The extent of cooperation with the prosecution by each applicant in the particular case for which the information has been provided. 

Dismissal of charges

• If an applicant supplies information which results in the arrest and issuance of criminal charges against a person(s) for a corruption crime and those charges are subsequently dismissed, eligibility for a reward shall be at the discretion of the Attorney General or designee.

Finality of determination of eligibility and allocation of award amounts

• The decision of the Attorney General or designee regarding reward eligibility and payment shall be final and shall not be subject to judicial review.