The fraud investigations of Bristol-Myers Squibb and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey posed a dilemma for U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie: how to enforce the law without putting them out of business.

In both cases, Christie chose deferred prosecution, placing charges on hold while a defendant meets certain demands. Typical provisions include cooperation, waiver of attorney-client privilege and appointment of monitors. If the defendant complies, charges are dropped.