The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has awarded its first-ever whistleblower payment: $1 million to an individual who exposed a bid-rigging scheme that inflated used car prices.
The whistleblower’s tip led to criminal charges against EBLOCK Corporation, which agreed to pay $3.28 million in fines for failing to stop a conspiracy at a company it acquired.
The case marks a milestone for the Antitrust Division’s six-month-old whistleblower rewards program. It signals the government’s commitment to incentivizing insiders who report corporate wrongdoing, particularly schemes that harm everyday consumers in major purchases like automobiles.
EBLOCK, which operates an online auction platform for used vehicles, acquired Company A in November 2020. Court documents reveal that EBLOCK failed to immediately halt an ongoing bid-rigging conspiracy between Company A and Company B.
From November 2020 to February 2022, employees at both companies shared confidential bidding information. They agreed on maximum bid amounts and used “shill bidding” — fake bids designed to inflate prices artificially.
The conspirators went so far as to develop software that placed automatic fake bids. These bids appeared under the names of real auto dealerships without their consent.
“Whistleblowers serve as the Justice System’s greatest disinfectant against criminal antitrust conspiracies,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi in a Department of Justice news release.
Assefi emphasized...
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