The generous $1 million award is expected to be the first of many as whistleblowers “frenzy” to report antitrust misconduct.
On January 29, 2026, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice announced its first-ever whistleblower payment within six months of unveiling its Whistleblower Rewards Program in mid-2025. The Rewards Program promised to award individuals in an amount equal to 15-30% of the criminal fine or recovery if they provide original information about antitrust violations impacting the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) that result in more than $1 million in harm.
The $1 million award came after a whistleblower provided information that led to a $3.28 million criminal fine and deferred prosecution agreement related to a 15-month bid-rigging conspiracy affecting online auction platforms for used vehicles. According to the DOJ press release, the link to the USPS was simple: co-conspirators sent documents in support of the bid rigging scheme via US mail.
In a speech touting the whistleblower award, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi noted that the DOJ is “seeing a frenzy of people coming forward”—so much so that it is “becoming a rarity in which [DOJ’s] case does not include a whistleblower.” Assefi’s statement suggests that the DOJ views whistleblower payments as a critical tool for detecting future antitrust cartels.
The DOJ’s first whistleblower award comes in a case that highlights two priorities for the Division—cost-of-living concerns and online collusion. Gail Slater, the head of the Antitrust Division, has signaled that the DOJ’s enforcement priorities would be focused on “protect[ing] Americans on pocketbook issues such as housing, healthcare, groceries, transportation, insurance, entertainment, and similar markets that directly impact their lives.” The criminal conduct in this case implicates the “pocketbook issues” mentioned by Slater—targeting “unsuspecting car buyers” who paid inflated sales prices for used vehicles. It also involved the use of an online car auction platform to facilitate the bid rigging, reflecting the DOJ’s continued scrutiny in digital marketplaces following indictments for price-fixing and bid-rigging in digital marketplaces in 2015, 2021, and 2023.
Key Takeaways
First award provides proof of concept. The Antitrust Division’s first whistleblower award demonstrates the DOJ’s increasing focus on proactive means of detecting antitrust crimes, as reflected in updated corporate compliance program guidance in late 2024, and the announcement of the Rewards Program in mid-2025.
The required impact on the USPS is minimal. After the announcement of the Rewards Program last year, it was unclear how substantial the impact of a reported conspiracy on the USPS would have to be to qualify for an award. With this enforcement milestone, the DOJ signaled that the requirement is minimal—i.e., a whistleblower complaint qualifies even where it only reports that the mails were used (e.g., to send documentation related to the scheme).
Rewards Program speeds up the race for leniency. The Antitrust Division’s existing leniency program allows corporations and individuals to avoid criminal charges if they self-report their participation in an illegal conspiracy. With the introduction of the Rewards Program and its early success, corporations and individuals uncovering antitrust violations must not only account for co-conspirators racing to the DOJ for leniency but also individuals seeking to capitalize on lucrative whistleblower awards. The new challenge heightens the need for strong corporate compliance programs to detect antitrust violations faster to win the race for leniency.
Employee compliance reports must be taken seriously. According to Assefi’s announcement, the whistleblower in this case was a retired enforcement official who was ignored by their company when reporting misconduct. With the Rewards Program increasing antitrust risk, it has never been more important for corporations to take employee misconduct reports seriously, and to ensure robust corporate compliance programs are in place to detect and remedy competition concerns before the risk of a whistleblower report arises.
Merger due diligence should assess antitrust compliance risks. The DOJ’s award announcement reported that the fined corporation had violated the Sherman Act because it failed to stop illegal bid-rigging undertaken by an entity it had previously acquired. This enforcement action is a strong reminder that it is no defense that a company simply acquired another that was already engaged in anticompetitive conduct. Any would-be acquiring company should ensure that a part of its due diligence process analyzes the target company’s conduct to uncover any potential antitrust compliance risks for resolution before any acquisition.
