On January 29, 2026, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust division announced its first ever award, $1 million, in the Antitrust Whistleblower program. The whistleblower in this case provided DOJ information that led to criminal antitrust and fraud charges through a deferred prosecution agreement against EBLOCK corporation, an online auction platform for used vehicles. As part of the settlement, EBLOCK agreed to pay a $3.28 million criminal fine.
The successful prosecution in this case, with help from the whistleblower, comes just six months after DOJ announced the Antitrust Whistleblower program. Announcing the settlement, those involved in the successful prosecution were quick to highlight the whistleblower’s important role in their enforcement action. “Whistleblowers serve as the Justice System’s greatest disinfectant against criminal antitrust conspiracies,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi. Acting Director of Criminal Enforcement Daniel Glad of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division added: “Today’s reward shows that the Antitrust Division leverages whistleblower reports to drive forward our investigations.” Acting Assistant Director Mark Remily of the FBI’s Criminal Division further emphasized that: “Whistleblowers play a critical role in helping law enforcement to identify and investigate a wide variety of criminal activities.”
The government’s action against EBLOCK was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Court documents described a sophisticated bid-rigging scheme:
“[L]egacy employees at Company A conspired with employees at Company B to share bidding information and agree on the maximum amount Company A or Company B would bid on certain vehicles. Company A employees provided special access and user permissions to Company B that enabled it to view the confidential bidding information of other buyers and sellers on its auction site. The co-conspirators maintained a shared inventory of vehicles purchased pursuant to the bid rigging scheme, and they coordinated to relist those vehicles and place shill bids with the intention of artificially increasing the prices paid by legitimate buyers. They also misrepresented the numbers and identities of these fake bidders during the online auctions by commissioning the development of software that would automatically place shill bids under the names of actual auto dealerships without those dealerships’ consent. The co-conspirators pooled and split the profits from the scheme. During the course of these actions, various documents in support of the scheme were sent via U.S. Mail.”
“This is an important enforcement effort showing how whistleblowers can help the government uncover complex schemes that may otherwise go undetected,” Kate Scanlan, a whistleblower lawyer with Keller Grover LLP in San Francisco, said, adding: “This scheme, which violated our Antitrust laws, was generating illegal profits by making used cars more expensive for average Americans.”
The Antitrust Whistleblower program was announced by DOJ in July 2025. Whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible to receive a whistleblower reward. Whistleblower awards can range from 15 to 30 percent of the money collected. For more information on the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, including a link to submit reports, visit www.justice.gov/atr/whistleblower-rewards.
Keller Grover has decades of experience in antitrust litigation and a long history helping whistleblowers expose wrongdoing. Our experienced whistleblower attorneys can help answer questions about this new program and how to submit whistleblower claims to DOJ.
If you would like more information, or have a potential case, contact us for a free confidential consultation.