In brief

The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division (the Division) and the US Postal Service (USPS) granted their first payment under the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program¹ a $1 million award to an individual whose tip helped the Division obtain a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) and $3.28 million fine against EBLOCK Corporation for bid-rigging and "shill bidding." Documents relating to the alleged scheme were sent through US Mail, satisfying the required USPS nexus for reward eligibility. Announced just six months after the program's launch, this award underscores the Division’s rapid deployment of whistleblower incentives and intensifies the first in race between companies seeking leniency and employees incentivized to report.

Key takeaways

• The whistleblower program’s mechanics: individuals who voluntarily provide truthful, original information that results in at least $1 million in criminal fines are presumptively eligible for a reward of 15-30% of the final recovery. Because the USPS administers the program, the misconduct must have a sufficient nexus to the US mail for an award to be available.
• The $1 million award is likely to spur further whistleblower activity across industries—Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi noted that the Division has already seen “a frenzy of people coming forward,” underscoring the powerful incentives created by the program.²
• The Division's comments linked the whistleblower program to its strategy of...

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