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Key Takeaways
- DOJ's Antitrust Division announced that it has awarded the first-ever payment to a whistleblower for reporting an antitrust crime.
- The whistleblower reported an illegal bid-rigging conspiracy during online used car auctions that ultimately resulted in the corporate entity entering into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreeing to pay $3.28 million in criminal fines.
- With the award coming just six months after the creation of the whistleblower rewards program, the first payout signals that the Antitrust Division's rewards program is building momentum and this payout will likely encourage other whistleblowers to come forward and assist the government in bringing cases.
- The Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Antitrust Division stated that they are "seeing a frenzy of people coming forward seeking to qualify" under the whistleblower rewards program.1
Key Details
On January 29, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division (Division), in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), announced its first-ever whistleblower reward payment, just six months after the Division announced the creation of the whistleblower rewards program. The $1 million reward was given to an employee who became aware of their employer's participation in a conspiracy to rig bids in online used car auctions. The Division resolved the criminal antitrust and fraud allegations against the corporate entity by way of a deferred prosecution agreement that required the company to pay a $3.28 million criminal fine and undertake remedial measures, including implementing appropriate compliance processes and procedures to prevent similar conduct from occurring in the future.2
According to the Division, the conspiracy at issue began in 2015 and involved an auction platform and auto wholesale company. The scheme allegedly involved rigging sales of used cars through the sharing of bidding information and the placing of fake offers to increase prices to "suppress and eliminate competition,"3 which ultimately impacted more than $16 million in sales. In 2021, when the auction platform was acquired, the conspiracy allegedly continued with the acquiring company making no effort to stop the illegal conduct.4
The Division stated that the whistleblower played a critical role in helping expose the charged conduct.5 The Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Division (DAAG), Omeed Assefi, praised the outcome, noting that "whistleblowers serve as the Justice System's greatest disinfectant against criminal antitrust conspiracies."6
First Payout Signals More to Come
Although various federal agencies and U.S. Attorneys' Offices have historically operated whistleblower rewards programs,7 the payment in this case marks the first time that an individual has been rewarded for reporting a criminal antitrust violation. Although this matter concerned a relatively small and local conspiracy, the Division was able to quickly charge the case and distribute the payout to the whistleblower. With the first payout being awarded just six months after the announcement of the rewards program, the Division is likely viewing the program as a key enforcement tool that is gaining momentum. The first whistleblower reward has highlighted the rewards program and will likely encourage other whistleblowers to come forward. In fact, DAAG Assefi stated that the Division is "seeing a frenzy of people coming forward seeking to qualify under our whistleblower program" and that he expects the first whistleblower payment to "increase the amount of people coming forward to us."8
The first payout is also significant because it shows in practice how little harm is needed to create a nexus between the alleged antitrust violation and the USPS. Although the rewards program requires that the alleged violations affect the USPS, its revenues or its property,9 in this instance there was no allegation that the USPS was directly harmed by the conduct. This suggests that the needed nexus with the USPS will be a low bar. Further, the USPS has traditionally utilized a broad mandate and reach in antitrust-related investigations. The first payout is consistent with this mandate.
Key Takeaways
- As noted above, this first payment from the new Division whistleblower rewards program occurred approximately six months after the program was launched. This is quite fast for an antitrust investigation and prosecution, and suggests that the whistleblower may have been able to increase the speed of the investigation. This quick whistleblower reward payment is likely to build momentum for additional whistleblowers to come to the Division, seeking to assist with criminal antitrust-related investigations. In fact, in addition to noting that the Division has already seen a "frenzy" of whistleblowers seeking to qualify under its rewards program, DAAG Assefi stated that "it's becoming a rarity in which our case does not include a whistleblower." 10 In short, the first payout is likely the first of more to come.
- As we previously reported,11 companies face an additional dilemma when considering whether to self-report potential illegal conduct to the Division under its leniency program; companies now face the possibility that a whistleblower employee seeking a financial reward will expose the collusive conduct and cut off the company's path to leniency. Speed is of the essence, and as DAAG Assefi stated, "[T]he race is faster now, because employees and their attorneys are incentivized to blow the whistle and beat their companies to the Division's doorstep."12
- In light of the increased activity ushered in by the whistleblower rewards program, companies should consider updating their antitrust compliance policies and procedures to align with this new program and the associated risks. If a potential antitrust violation arises, this could include conducting internal investigations, taking appropriate compliance program responses, and determining whether to seek leniency, among other actions, before a whistleblower directly contacts the Division.
Footnotes
1 US DOJ witnessing 'frenzy' as people seek whistleblower reward, Assefi says, Jan 30, 2026; https://www.mlex.com/mlex/articles/2436036/us-doj-witnessing-frenzy-as-people-seek-whistleblower-reward-assefi-says.
2 Press Release 26-71, Antitrust Division and U.S. Postal Service Make First-Ever Whistleblower Payment: $1M Awarded for Reporting Antitrust Crime (January 29, 2026), https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/antitrust-division-and-us-postal-service-award-first-ever-1m-payment-whistleblower-reporting.
3 Id.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 DOJ Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program (August 8, 2024), https://www.bakerlaw.com/insights/doj-corporate-whistleblower-awards-pilot-program/.
8 US DOJ witnessing 'frenzy' as people seek whistleblower reward, Assefi says, Jan 30, 2026; https://www.mlex.com/mlex/articles/2436036/us-doj-witnessing-frenzy-as-people-seek-whistleblower-reward-assefi-says.
9 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Whistleblower Rewards Program and Procedures, https://www.justice.gov/atr/media/1407261/dl?inline.
10 First whistleblower reward sparks race to report, lawyers say (January 29, 2026), https://globalcompetitionreview.com/gcr-usa/article/first-whistleblower-reward-sparks-race-report-lawyers-say
12 Id.
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