On January 29, 2026, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division issued its first-ever whistleblower reward under the Antitrust Division’s Whistleblower Rewards Program, which launched in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service in mid-2025. The DOJ awarded the whistleblower $1 million for providing information which led to criminal antitrust and fraud charges against EBLOCK Corporation, an online auction platform for used vehicles. The company agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement and a $3.28 million criminal fine to resolve allegations that it failed to stop a bid-rigging conspiracy and shill bidding scheme affecting used vehicle auctions across the country.
The whistleblower’s reports revealed widespread criminal antitrust violations of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 1), wire fraud, and mail fraud. According to court documents, after acquiring Company A in November 2020, EBLOCK failed to immediately take action to end ongoing criminal activity at its newly acquired subsidiary. From November 2020 through February 2022, individuals at Company A conspired with employees at Company B to suppress competition for used vehicles sold through Company A’s online auction platform. The co-conspirators shared confidential bidding information, coordinated purchases and resales, and artificially inflated prices through shill bidding, the practice of placing...
HOUSTON, Texas — A 51-year-old woman from Sedgwick County, Kansas, has been sentenced to federal prison for making false statements to law enforcement, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganje...