Special Delivery: DOJ and USPS Announce First-Ever Payday Under Cartel Whistleblower Program
In Short
The Development: On January 29, 2026, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the U.S. Postal Service ("USPS") Office of the Inspector General announced the first whistleblower award under the Whistleblower Rewards Program.
The Result: Increased awareness of the program heightens the risk of detection and changes the calculus of whether and when a company should consider self-reporting potential misconduct.
Looking Ahead: As the DOJ and USPS continue issuing awards under this program, companies face an increased risk that antitrust violations will be detected and externally reported. This change necessitates a reassessment of self-reporting strategies and a renewed focus on the effectiveness and responsiveness of compliance programs to ensure that potential issues are identified and addressed before they escalate to external authorities.
Overview
Last summer, the DOJ and USPS partnered to launch the Whistleblower Rewards Program to offer financial incentives to individuals who report antitrust crimes and related offenses.
The program offers awards at the DOJ's discretion to individual whistleblowers if their information leads to a criminal conviction and fine of at least $1 million, or an equivalent recovery from a deferred prosecution or non-prosecution agreement. The reward is set at a minimum of 15% and a maximum of 30% of the recovered criminal fine or penalty. If multiple whistleblowers are involved, the total shared award will not exceed 30%. The DOJ considers several factors in determining the appropriate award, including how useful and reliable the whistleblower's information was; whether it led to a conviction, saved resources, or recovered assets; the whistleblower's cooperation and any hardship faced; their own role in the conduct; and any other rewards they received.
Although the program focuses on crimes affecting the USPS, its revenues, or its property, its application is not limited to postal operations. It targets crimes and related offenses that undermine or distort the competitive process in any industry where the USPS is involved. This means collusive behavior that affects the USPS—no matter the industry—can trigger whistleblower eligibility and enforcement action.
The program covers a broad range of federal criminal violations, including:
- Criminal violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, such as price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation, as well as monopolization;
- Federal criminal violations that effectuate, facilitate, or conceal antitrust violations;
- Violations targeting or affecting federal, state, or local public procurement; and
- Violations impacting the conduct of federal competition investigations or proceedings.
Speaking at the Global Competition Review Live conference on January 29, 2026, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi said the Whistleblower Rewards Program has had a "massive effect" on case generation, with a "frenzy of people coming forward to seek to qualify" under the Program. According to Assefi, it is "becoming a rarity" to have a criminal antitrust case without a whistleblower.
The First Award
The January 29 announcement detailed a $1 million award to a whistleblower who reported a bid-rigging conspiracy for used cars sold on an online auction platform. According to the deferred prosecution agreement, the volume of affected commerce was approximately $16,240,000. The defendant agreed to pay a fine of $3.28 million, meaning the whistleblower award was about 30% of the total fine paid by the defendant, which is the maximum amount allowed under program guidelines. It remains to be seen whether the whistleblower will receive any additional award in the event of further resolutions by other co-conspirators.
This award confirms that companies face a greater likelihood that misconduct will be brought to the attention of authorities, even if internal controls or management are unaware. Critically, in most cases, whistleblowers report alleged misconduct internally through human resources departments or compliance hotlines. This dynamic reinforces that companies should take hotline complaints seriously, using the opportunity to address concerns before government enforcers learn of the misconduct. And if companies are able to corroborate a whistleblower's allegations, companies can choose to take advantage of leniency rather than being a subject of the Whistleblower Rewards Program.
This award also confirms the broad application of the Whistleblower Rewards Program. The connection between the industry and conduct in this instance was that "the defendant used the U.S. Mail to send documentation related to the scheme." The broad lens through which the DOJ and USPS view the nexus between USPS and the alleged conduct means every scheme that uses U.S. Mail may be within the scope of the program.
Four Key Takeaways
- Increased Risk of Detection and Reporting: As awareness of the Whistleblower Rewards Program increases, so does the risk that antitrust violations and related federal crimes that affect the USPS will be detected and reported.
- Impact on Self-Reporting and Leniency Decisions: The Whistleblower Rewards Program is intended to complement, not replace, the Antitrust Division's longstanding Leniency Program.
- The Whistleblower Rewards Program's Broad Application: As noted above, the Whistleblower Rewards Program is intended to focus on crimes affecting the USPS.
- Working with Whistleblowers: Studies confirm that, in most cases, companies have an opportunity to resolve a potential whistleblower's concerns internally before that person approaches government enforcers.
