FCA Suit Stealer Gets Guideline Sentence

What Happened?

Jeffrey Wertkin, a former Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP partner who previously had worked at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), received 30 months’ imprisonment for offenses related to his theft and attempted sale of a sealed government whistleblower complaint to a cyber-security company being investigated by the DOJ. The sentence was at the low end of Wertkin’s 30-37-month range under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and far more than the year-and-a-day sentence that his attorney had requested.

The Rundown

In November 2017, Wertkin pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to two counts of obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1505; and one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314.  As he transitioned from his role as a civil prosecutor at the DOJ to Akin Gump’s Washington D.C. office, Wertkin stole approximately 40 sealed complaints. In November 2016, he cold-called general counsel at a Silicon Valley company and left a voicemail offering to provide information about a complaint that implicated the company for a fee.  The general counsel called the FBI, and, after a series of monitored phone calls with the general counsel, Wertkin – dressed in a wig and sunglasses – was arrested in a Sunnyvale, California hotel, at which he intended to exchange the complaint for more than $300,000 in cash.

In a lengthy and well-crafted sentencing memorandum, Wertkin’s counsel, Cristina Arguedas of Arguenda Cassman & Headley LLP focused on his undiagnosed anxiety and depression, the personal struggles caused by a taxing career, the aberrant nature of his misconduct, and the steps he had taken towards rehabilitation, including his cooperation and his embrace of mental health treatment. Arguedas submitted 85 character letters on Wertkin’s behalf.

In its filing, the government, which requested a mid-guidelines sentence of 34 months, focused its attention on Wertkin’s position of public trust when he stole the complaints and the continuing nature of his course of conduct. At the sentencing hearing, the government keyed in on the number of potential victims, noting that, after being charged, Wertkin had staged his office at Akin Gump to make it look as though the complaints had been mailed to him by the DOJ.  That act of obstruction initiated an investigation into blameless DOJ attorneys.

The Take Away

Though crediting Wertkin’s struggles with mental health issues and his significant support from the community, the Court fashioned a guidelines sentence. Among other factors, the need for general deterrence weighed heavily on the Court. While Wertkin, who had forfeited his law license, would never engage in this kind of activity again, the Court had to send a message that these matters are taken seriously.