DOJ, USPS issue $1 million whistleblower reward in antitrust case

The Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Service have announced that they issued a $1 million whistleblower reward in an antitrust case.”Today our Antitrust Division @JusticeATR announced a $1 million reward – the first of its kind from @TheJusticeDept – for a whistleblower who reported bid-rigging on an online car auction platform,” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X on Thursday. “This enabled us to dismantle a $16 million fraud scheme that was cheating American consumers. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue to fight against corporate collusion and monopolistic behavior — come forward and help us!”
The reward was given by the DOJ and USPS because the information provided by the whistleblower included an alleged scheme that involved sending documents through the mail, according to the department. The whistleblower gave information that led to criminal and antitrust charges being levied against EBlock Corporation, an online auction company for vehicles.
“Whistleblowers serve as the Justice System’s greatest disinfectant against criminal antitrust conspiracies,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division said in a statement. “A car is the second largest purchase most Americans will make in their lifetimes. This whistleblower helped expose a brazen $16 million scheme that made it more expensive for hardworking Americans to afford second-hand cars across the country.”
After acquiring another company, EBlock Corporation allegedly engaged in “the placement of fake bids intended to artificially increase the sales prices for used vehicles,” according to the DOJ.
From November 2020 to February 2022, individuals at a company that EBlock acquired allegedly conspired with individuals at another company to suppress and eliminate competition for used vehicles sold on the acquired company’s online auction platform, per the department. EBlock allegedly did not take immediate action to end “shill bidding” on its acquired company’s platform.
The co-conspirators in the scheme allegedly misrepresented the numbers and identities of 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 profits from the scheme were allegedly pooled and split among the co-conspirators.
As part of a deferred prosecution to resolve criminal antitrust and fraud charges, EBlock Corporation will pay a $3.28 million fine and must undertake remedial measures, including implementing an appropriate compliance program and cooperating with the DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation and resulting prosecutions.

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