On January 29, 2026, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division issued its first-ever whistleblower reward under the Antitrust Division’s Whistleblower Rewards Program, which launched in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service in mid-2025. The DOJ awarded the whistleblower $1 million for providing information which led to criminal antitrust and fraud charges against EBLOCK Corporation, an online auction platform for used vehicles. The company agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement and a $3.28 million criminal fine to resolve allegations that it failed to stop a bid-rigging conspiracy and shill bidding scheme affecting used vehicle auctions across the country.

DOJ Awards Whistleblower $1 Million for Reporting Antitrust Violations by EBLOCK

The whistleblower’s reports revealed widespread criminal antitrust violations of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 1), wire fraud, and mail fraud. According to court documents, after acquiring Company A in November 2020, EBLOCK failed to immediately take action to end ongoing criminal activity at its newly acquired subsidiary. From November 2020 through February 2022, individuals at Company A conspired with employees at Company B to suppress competition for used vehicles sold through Company A’s online auction platform. The co-conspirators shared confidential bidding information, coordinated purchases and resales, and artificially inflated prices through shill bidding, the practice of placing fake bids to drive up prices and deceive legitimate buyers. The co-conspirators even developed software that placed fake bids under the names of actual auto dealerships without their knowledge or consent. The scheme totaled approximately $16 million and made it more expensive for Americans to purchase second-hand vehicles.

Under the Antitrust Division’s Whistleblower Rewards Program, created pursuant to 39 U.S.C. § 2601, which allows the U.S. Postal Service to make whistleblower awards, whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible for rewards ranging from 15% to 30% of the money collected. This first award just six months after the program’s launch sends a powerful signal to potential whistleblowers that the DOJ is serious about rewarding those who step forward with valuable information about criminal antitrust activity. The DOJ encouraged whistleblowers to come forward even if the criminal activity has already ended, noting they could still be eligible for an award.

The DOJ Antitrust Program Complements Other Tip Programs and the False Claims Act

This new program fills an important gap in the existing landscape of federal whistleblower rewards. While the False Claims Act has long provided whistleblower incentives for reporting fraud against the government through qui tam actions, and the SEC and CFTC whistleblower reward programs have successfully brought to light many securities and commodities violations, the Antitrust Division’s program specifically targets anticompetitive conduct such as bid-rigging, price-fixing, market allocation, and related criminal schemes. The launch of this new antitrust-focused program complements the DOJ’s earlier effort to fill such gaps by creating the Corporate Whistleblower Award Pilot Program to incentivize reporting financial institutions’ violations, domestic and foreign bribery, and private healthcare fraud.

Antitrust Whistleblowers Have Anti-Retaliation Protections

While many employees fear retaliation for reporting such crimes either internally to their supervisors or externally to law enforcement, the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7a-3, protects such whistleblowers from retaliation, as do the laws of many states. The Memorandum of Understanding for the Antitrust Division’s Whistleblower Rewards Program permits whistleblowers to initially report violations to the Antitrust Division anonymously if represented by an attorney. Further, the DOJ takes reasonable steps to protect whistleblower confidentiality and minimize the risk of public disclosure throughout its investigations.