- within Antitrust/Competition Law topic(s)
- with Senior Company Executives, HR and Finance and Tax Executives
- in United States
- with readers working within the Banking & Credit and Consumer Industries industries
The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division announced on January 29, 2026, that it will pay a whistleblower a $1 million reward for providing information that led to criminal charges. The reward is the first authorized under the Whistleblower Rewards Program established by the Antitrust Division and the United States Postal Service ("USPS") last year. DOJ was "seeing a frenzy of people coming forward" even before the payout, according to comments by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi, and the reward is sure to incentivize additional disclosures.
The payment will reward an insider report on Eblock Corporation ("EBlock"), a Toronto-based company that hosts online auctions for used vehicles. The crime involved "shill bidding" on an EBlock-owned platform, resulting in the placement of fake bids intended to artificially increase the sales prices for used vehicles. EBlock will enter into a deferred prosecution agreement ("DPA") imposing a $3.28 million fine. The criminal charges and fine serve as a reminder of the importance of antitrust compliance programs.
The DOJ/USPS Whistleblower Program
The Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program was created by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the USPS in May 2025. The program uses USPS authorities to pay informants a portion of the penalties and forfeitures collected from "matters affecting the Postal Service, its revenues or property." The Antitrust Division receives whistleblower reports and Division attorneys assess whether reported information alleges antitrust crimes. If the information constitutes "original" information and leads to a criminal penalty of at least $1 million, the whistleblower is eligible for an award between 15% and 30% of the penalty recovered. On July 8, 2025, the Antitrust Division announced the formal launch of this program and posted a program webpage through which whistleblowers can submit reports.
The Crime and the Resolution
EBlock was charged with one count of conspiring to rig bids in violation of the Sherman Act and one count of wire fraud. (Information, United States v. EBlock Corp., No. 5:26-cr-00013-SSS, (E.D. Ca. Jan. 22, 2026), ECF No. 1). According to the DPA, EBlock acquired the assets of an undisclosed company (described as "Company A") in November 2020. (Deferred Prosecution Agreement for Def. EBlock Corp. ("DPA") at 22, United States v. EBlock Corp., No. 5:26-cr-00013-SSS, (E.D. Ca. Jan. 22, 2026), ECF No. 3). Company A's assets included a digital platform for auctioning vehicles in central California. At the time of acquisition and since 2015, Company A had been engaged in a conspiracy with a "Company B" to manipulate Company A's online auctions. (DPA at 22-24, ECF No. 3). The conspiracy involved sharing and exchanging confidential bid information submitted by other buyers and sellers and adding "shill bids," i.e., bids placed for the sole purpose of artificially increasing bid prices. The conspirators commissioned software that would automatically place shill bids under the names of actual auto dealerships without those dealerships' consent. The conspirators pooled and split the profits from the scheme and used the U.S. Mail to send various documents in support of the scheme. EBlock was not aware of this conduct at the time it acquired Company A. It became aware of the conduct in January 2021 and instituted measures to stop it. (DPA at 24-25, ECF No. 3). Nonetheless, the conduct persisted until February 2022, with legacy employees of Company A evading the measures EBlock instituted.
As part of the DPA, EBlock accepted responsibility for the conduct of Company A, agreed to pay a criminal penalty, and committed to modifying its compliance program. (DPA ¶ 8, ECF No. 3). In a press release, the Justice Department credited the whistleblower's report with the Antitrust Division's identification of the conspiracy. It also framed the whistleblower's report as representative of the "indispensable role whistleblowers will continue to play in the Division's criminal enforcement" through the Whistleblower Rewards Program.
In announcing the whistleblower award, DOJ noted that the disclosures led to charges against an "international corporation." The EBlock DPA did, however, recognize mitigating circumstances, including that EBlock's due diligence prior to acquiring Company A was hindered by the Covid pandemic, that EBlock took concrete steps to stop the conspiracy, and that EBlock timely cooperated with the Antitrust Division once alerted of the investigation. (DPA at 4-5, ECF No. 3).
Increased Benefits from Robust Antitrust Compliance Programs
Under the Antitrust Division's long-established Leniency Program, the first organization or individual to self-report its participation in antitrust crimes may qualify for non-prosecution protection. As Deputy Assistant Attorney General Assefi notes, the Whistleblower Program, in combination with the Leniency Program, incentivizes employees "to blow the whistle and beat their companies to the Division's doorstep." With this new incentive structure in place, close monitoring of internal whistleblower lines and ethics complaints is even more important to position companies to qualify for leniency through prompt self-reporting. Companies should take care to ensure that their antitrust compliance programs are robust in order to prevent or detect violations.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
