The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded $1 million to a whistleblower whose information helped expose a bid-rigging scheme involving online used-vehicle auctions, marking the first payout under the Antitrust Division's relatively new whistleblower rewards program.
In a statement, the Justice Department said the award stemmed from information that led to a deferred prosecution agreement with EBLOCK Corp., an online wholesale used-vehicle auction platform. Federal prosecutors said the tip revealed a conspiracy that manipulated auction outcomes, inflated vehicle prices and affected millions of dollars in used-car transactions.
According to the Justice Department, the misconduct traces back to late 2020, after EBLOCK acquired another online auction company identified in court filings as "Company A." Prosecutors said EBLOCK failed to immediately stop an ongoing conspiracy at Company A, allowing the scheme to continue for more than a year after the acquisition.
From November 2020 through February 2022, employees of Company A conspired with employees of a second firm, identified as "Company B," to rig bids on vehicles sold through the online auction platform, the Justice Department said. The conspirators allegedly shared confidential bidding information, coordinated bidding strategies, and agreed on maximum bid amounts to suppress genuine competition.
Federal authorities said one of the primary tactics used in the scheme was shill bidding - the placement of artificial bids...
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