Companies that do business with the Postal Service, or ship prescriptions or other products through the mail, may soon face additional antitrust scrutiny from potential whistleblowers. On July 8, 2025, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, in partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the USPS Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG), announced its first-ever Whistleblower Rewards Program. In launching the program, the Antitrust Division will offer financial incentives — up to 30% of any criminal fines recovered for tips that result in a recovery of at least $1 million — to individuals who report violations of antitrust laws affecting the Postal Service, its revenues, or property.
This program, which became effective on May 7, 2025, follows the Criminal Division's Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program, unveiled in August 2024, to incentivize individuals to report corporate misconduct and enhance the DOJ's ability to uncover and prosecute corporate crime. Following that Pilot Program, on May 12, 2025, the Criminal Division announced revisions to corporate enforcement policies, including the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program to expand the scope of criminal offenses that whistleblowers may report. The Antitrust Division's Whistleblower Rewards Program is yet another avenue for the DOJ to rely on private citizens to aid in enforcing corporate and competitive wrongdoing in the marketplace.
Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater emphasized that the Antitrust Division's Whistleblower Rewards Program coincides with the DOJ's efforts to combat collusion and cartel activities by encouraging individuals to report specific, credible, and timely information about illegal agreements to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate markets, as well as other federal criminal violations that impact, distort, or undermine the competitive process or market competition.
Whistleblower Rewards Program Elements & Rewards
The Whistleblower Rewards Program is outlined in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Antitrust Division, the USPS, and the USPS OIG. The MOU recognizes the USPS's authority to pay whistleblowers who voluntarily report original, specific, credible, and timely information about criminal offenses and requires the Antitrust Division to establish a dedicated reporting mechanism for the public to disclose criminal antitrust violations.
The Whistleblower Rewards Program allows eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information regarding a potential or actual eligible criminal violation, which USPS determines reasonably articulates a violation of law affecting the Postal Service, its revenues, or property, and this information leads to a resolution including a criminal fine of at least $1 million or an equivalent recovery from a deferred prosecution or non-prosecution agreement, the whistleblower will be eligible for an award.
The MOU provides further details on the specific requirements, including (1) voluntariness; (2) original information; (3) eligible criminal violations; and (4) reasonable articulation of violations of law affecting the Postal Service, its revenues, or property.
Voluntariness
A tip will be considered voluntary if it is submitted before any formal legal demand (e.g., grand jury subpoena) and if the person has no preexisting obligation to report the information.
Original Information
Information is original if it is truthful and complete information:
- Derived from independent knowledge, not already known to the Antitrust Division, USPS, or USPS OIG;
- Not exclusively derived from an allegation made in a judicial hearing, government report or investigation, or news media; and
- Provided for the first time after the date upon which the MOU was ratified.
Eligible Criminal Violations
The Whistleblower Rewards Program applies to original information related to the following categories of criminal offenses:
- Criminal violations of sections 1, 2, and 3 of the Sherman Act.
- Federal criminal violations committed to effectuate, facilitate, or conceal violations of the Sherman Act.
- Federal criminal violations targeting or affecting federal, state, or local public procurement.
- Federal criminal violations targeting or affecting the conduct of federal competition investigations or proceedings.
Violations Affecting Postal Service, Its Revenues, or Property
A whistleblower reasonably articulates violations of law affecting the Postal Service, its revenues, or property when sufficient facts and evidence are provided for the USPS to conclude it has suffered an identifiable harm. The MOU provides that the "harm" need not be material or pose any "substantial detriment" to the USPS.
It is unclear how expansively the Antitrust Division and the USPS will interpret the MOU. While the program will clearly apply to the USPS's own expenditures, of course, companies that ship pharmaceuticals or other products through the mail may face enhanced scrutiny as a result of this new program.
Reward Determination
If the Antitrust Division determines that a whistleblower reward is appropriate, and the criminal fine is at least $1 million, then the presumption will be that the total reward will be at least 15% of the recovered criminal fine, but no more than 30%. Multiple whistleblowers may be able to split the reward; however, the total shared reward cannot exceed 30% of the recovered fine.
Key Takeaways
The Antitrust Division's Whistleblower Rewards Program is the latest whistleblower program rolled out by the DOJ to offer financial incentives for individuals with knowledge of criminal violations in the corporate landscape. In announcing the program, AAG Slater indicated that the purpose of this program is to reward individuals who report antitrust crimes and related offenses that harm consumers, taxpayers, and free market competition across industries, from healthcare to agriculture. Companies operating within these spaces should take note of this statement, given the DOJ's continued focus on enforcement in those areas and ensure their compliance programs and internal reporting mechanisms are robust.
Given that this is the first time that the Antitrust Division is offering a whistleblower reward, and the operation requires collaboration with the USPS, there are likely to be growing pains and inconsistencies in the program's application and usefulness. Regardless, companies must be aware that collusion in the competitive marketplace will open themselves up to a potential disgruntled employee or competitor racing to the Antitrust Division.
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