The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) has had a busy first half of the year announcing a first-of-its-kind antitrust whistleblower program, new indictments, and several sentencing and fine decisions. Below is a summary of the most recent activity.
DOJ Launches Whistleblower Rewards Program
The DOJ’s leniency program now has a sibling enforcement tool to incentivize colleagues to report antitrust violations in exchange for monetary reward. The DOJ partnered with the US Postal Service (USPS), the US Postal Inspection Service, and the USPS Office of Inspector General to launch the Whistleblower Rewards Program, an initiative that offers monetary rewards for individuals who report credible antitrust crimes that affect the USPS or broader markets.
To qualify for a reward, the reported crime must “cause harm” to the USPS, including its revenues, property, or operations. That appears at first glance to be limiting, but in practice many activities relate to the USPS.
The whistleblower may receive up to 30% of the criminal fines recovered if the whistleblower provides nonpublic information that contributes to a successful criminal enforcement action resulting in $1 million or more in fines. The reward announcement contains several qualifications, leaving some doubt as to how lucrative reporting will ultimately be for the whistleblower. But money is motivating, and companies should be aware of the increased risk of whistleblowing, revisit their compliance programs, and retrain staff on their legal responsibilities.
2025 Matters and Updates
Trump’s DOJ continues to indict, charge, and sentence companies and individuals responsible for violating the antitrust laws. The first half of the year brought new matters, new plea agreements, and sentences in matters previously tried. Unsurprisingly, most of the matters relate to the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, designed to weed out government bid rigging.
I. Transmigrante Forwarding Agency Industry Conspiracy (Los Indios, Texas)
According to the indictment, the defendants in this matter controlled the specialized transmigrante forwarding agency (TFA) industry, which transports used vehicles and goods from the US into Mexico through the Los Indios border crossing. DOJ alleged that Carlos Martinez orchestrated a centralized cartel called “The Pool” that eliminated competition through coordinated price-fixing across all TFA operators, dividing territory and customers among cartel members, and enforcing mandatory “piso” (floor tax) payments and fines on all operators. The indictment outlines that the cartel used kidnappings, threats, and physical violence against noncompliant competitors, while Martinez processed more than $9.5 million in extortion proceeds through various money-laundering channels.
As of this writing, some of the defendants have been sentenced, and three remain fugitives. The sentences range from 10 months to 11 years, with Martinez being sentenced to 11 years. The fines range from $50,000 to $2 million.
II. NYC Department of Education Bid Rigging
From November 2020 to January 2023, a bid-rigging conspiracy involving public school procurement contracts occurred within the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE). The conspiracy centered on ensuring Transcend BS, LLC, a company owned by former DOE employee Victor Garrido, would be awarded consulting contracts. Garrido coordinated with Donald Clark Garner II, former DOE recruitment manager and owner of Clark & Garner, LLC, and with an unnamed financial planning company and its owner (CC-3 and CC-4), both of which did not provide procurement consulting services. The scheme involved prearranged bid outcomes to guarantee Transcend would win work orders, artificially inflated pricing on bids from Clark & Garner and CC-3 to make Transcend’s bids appear most competitive, and intentionally losing bids to give the appearance of a lawful, competitive process.
For his part, Garrido was fined more than $160,000. Garner was fined approximately $39,000. Garrido’s and Garner’s companies were also fined.
III. Department of Defense Fuel Procurement Fraud (SEA Card Program)
Beginning in 2022, Jasen Butler, the owner of Independent Marine Oil Services LLC, exploited the Navy’s SEA Card Program, a program that enables fuel purchases for US Navy vessels worldwide. Butler submitted an alias, submitted fake bids under that alias, and created and submitted altered and fake invoices to US Navy ships and other vessels. The scheme targeted Navy ships at ports in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Croatia, and other international locations, including the USS Patriot and other vessels operating globally. Butler used various methods to hide his identity and avoid detection while using more than $5 million in fraudulent payments to purchase multiple properties.
A federal grand jury in Miami indicted Butler for multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and forgery for orchestrating the scheme.
IV. Arena Project Bid Rigging (Austin, Texas Public University)
Timothy J. Leiweke, chief executive officer of Oak View Group (OVG), conspired with a competitor to manipulate the bidding process for a major university arena project by reaching an agreement that the competitor would stand down and not submit or join an independent competing bid for the arena project. In exchange for backing down, Leiweke represented that the competitor would receive the project’s subcontracts. The six-year conspiracy manipulated the process so OVG could submit the only qualified proposal, defrauding a public university and taxpayers of competitive pricing through sustained coordination to secure the lucrative contract.
Afederal grand jury returned an indictment against OVG, which agreed to $15 million in penalties; affiliated Legends Hospitality paid $1.5 million.
V. Sports Equipment Sales to Public Schools (Mississippi/Louisiana)
Between February and March 2025, four individuals and one company pled guilty for their roles in bid rigging and wire fraud conspiracies targeting the sale of school sports equipment to hundreds of public schools in Mississippi and Louisiana. Defendants conspired to submit complementary bids to public schools, misrepresenting competitive pricing while inflating costs and undermining the public procurement process. The longest of the charged conspiracies lasted more than a decade.
Takeaway
As the DOJ launches its first antitrust whistleblower program, it continues robust enforcement of the antitrust laws. Companies should be vigilant in reducing their antitrust risk.
The first steps to protecting your company and employees from fines and prison are to have a robust compliance program and regular antitrust training. The DOJ issued new compliance guidelines in late 2024. Companies should review those guidelines and consult counsel for updated training and compliance materials.
*Ninel Lira, a summer associate at the firm not yet admitted to the bar, contributed to this alert.
[View source.]
