"The new Whistleblower Rewards Program will create a new pipeline of leads from individuals with firsthand knowledge of criminal antitrust and related offenses that will help us break down those walls of secrecy and hold violators accountable."

The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division (DOJ) has officially launched its first-ever Whistleblower Rewards Program through a memorandum of understanding with the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the USPS Office of Inspector General. This new program offers monetary rewards of up to 30 percent of criminal fines recovered for individuals who provide information leading to successful antitrust prosecutions of at least $1 million in fines. The DOJ has established reporting methods and will evaluate submissions and determine awards with the assistance of the USPS Office of Inspector General. USPS will pay the rewards.

The Antitrust Division’s Whistleblower Rewards Program is the latest effort by the DOJ to expand the scope of matters and programs incentivizing alleged whistleblowers with financial rewards. On August 1, 2024, the DOJ Criminal Division announced a Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program. DOJ sought to fill some “gaps” in the “scope of corporate crime” covered by the False Claims Act qui tam program, and the whistleblower programs of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. On May 12, 2025, the DOJ under the current administration expanded the scope of that program to include immigration violations, tariff evasion, procurement fraud and activities supporting terrorism and drug cartels.

Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater emphasized the DOJ program's strategic importance:

Antitrust crimes and related offenses that harm free market competition often occur in secret, making detection a formidable challenge. The new Whistleblower Rewards Program will create a new pipeline of leads from individuals with firsthand knowledge of criminal antitrust and related offenses that will help us break down those walls of secrecy and hold violators accountable.

Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale stated:

This reporting mechanism gives those with a vested interest in maintaining the integrity of the Postal Service the opportunity to join us in the fight. The Postal Inspection Service, along with our partners in the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General will not tolerate anyone who violates antitrust laws; we remain committed to seeking justice against anyone who chooses to do so. 

Key Program Details

Reward Structure

• Minimum reward: 15 percent of recovered criminal fine (presumptive amount)
• Maximum reward: 30 percent of recovered criminal fine
• Threshold: Criminal fine must be at least $1 million to qualify for rewards
• Multiple whistleblowers: Total shared reward cannot exceed 30 percent of recovered fine

Eligible Violations

The program covers several categories of criminal offenses, including:

• Criminal violations of Sherman Act Sections 1, 2 and 3
• Federal criminal violations committed to facilitate or conceal Sherman Act violations
• Federal criminal violations targeting public procurement (federal, state or local)
• Federal criminal violations affecting federal competition investigations or proceedings

 Qualified Whistleblowers Requirements

• Voluntarily provide original information about eligible criminal violations
• Submit information before any formal legal demand (such as grand jury subpoena)
• Provide information not already known to DOJ, U.S. Postal Inspection Service or USPS OIG from other sources
• Have no pre-existing obligation to report the information

Disqualified Individuals

• Leaders or originators of the illegal activity
• DOJ, USPS or law enforcement officials and their immediate family members
• Individuals who coerced others to participate in illegal activity
• Those who obtained information through attorney-client privilege (with limited exceptions)

Original Information Standards

Information must be:

• Derived from independent knowledge, not public sources
• Truthful and complete
• Not exclusively based on judicial proceedings, government reports or news media
• Provided for the first time after the memorandum of understanding's ratification date

Practical Considerations

This program significantly increases the risk of detection for antitrust violations, particularly in industries with postal service connections. Companies should consider strengthening antitrust compliance programs, conducting regular training on antitrust laws, implementing robust internal reporting mechanisms, ensuring proper documentation of business decisions to demonstrate legitimate competitive conduct, and reviewing vendor and contractor relationships. The Whistleblower Rewards Program’s treatment of attorney-client privileged information requires careful attention. While generally protected, exceptions exist for crime-fraud situations and specific disclosure circumstances under state attorney conduct rules.

The DOJ’s incentives for cooperation—and the Antitrust Division’s amnesty programs—already incentivize companies to implement meaningful internal reporting processes, compliance programs and self-disclosure of violations. The financial incentive for would-be whistleblowers is likely to add another variable to disclosure considerations (including timing) and warrants review of internal processes to ensure that potential violations are identified, investigated and, where appropriate, disclosed to the government. Because whistleblower complaints can often arise in connection with employment issues, companies should ensure that internal reporting and compliance processes can address them.

Conclusion

The DOJ's new Whistleblower Rewards Program represents a significant shift in antitrust enforcement strategy, creating powerful financial incentives for individuals to report violations. While the program currently applies only to violations affecting the USPS, its structure and the DOJ's existing broader whistleblower initiatives suggest this may be a template for future expansion. Businesses should proactively enhance their antitrust compliance programs and prepare for an environment where violation detection risks have substantially increased.

For More Information

If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Sean P. McConnell, Christopher H. Casey, Brian H. Pandya, any of the attorneys in our Antitrust and Competition Group, Daniel R. Walworth, any of the attorneys in our White-Collar Criminal Defense, Corporate Investigations and Regulatory Compliance Group, or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.