False Claims Act attorneys and others see new opportunity.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has announced a new Whistleblower Rewards Program, offering incentives to individuals to report “antitrust crimes and related offenses that harm consumers, taxpayers, and free market competition across industries from healthcare to agriculture.”

“The Whistleblower bar has a terrific history of fighting fraud and corruption. The recently announced antitrust whistleblower program presents a new opportunity. These practitioners may wish to enhance their likelihood of success by consulting with a firm which has extensive antitrust experience, including litigation against many Fortune 500 companies,” said Dan Mogin, Managing Partner at Mogin Law LLP.

Antitrust matters demand comprehensive expertise in demonstrating and linking complex covert corporate conduct to tangible and measurable economic impacts on competitors, consumers, and markets.

New Pipeline of Leads

Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater likewise noted the difficulty in detecting secretive and complex antitrust schemes. The new program will create a “new pipeline of leads” from people with firsthand knowledge to help government attorneys build cases, she said. The Division positions the program as a partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, which praised the program.

Individuals who report evidence of antitrust crimes may qualify for substantial monetary rewards of up to 30% of any criminal fines recovered for violations that inflict harm on the Postal Service, its revenues, or its property. The Antitrust Division already has a program to detect and prosecute cartels and criminal collusion by incentivizing individuals to report illegal agreements to fix prices, rig bids, allocate markets, and other conduct that undermines the competitive process or market competition.

To facilitate reporting, the Division has established a dedicated whistleblower webpage. “Whistleblowers and their counsel are encouraged to contact the Division promptly,” the page reads.

According to the Antitrust Division, 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 reward.

Payment of whistleblower rewards is in the discretion of the Antitrust Division, but if a whistleblower is eligible for an award the presumptive award amount will be between 15% and 30% of the amount of the criminal fine or recovery. These awards are subject to the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners.

FCA whistleblowers (also known as “relators”) have received billions in total since the 1980s, with individual awards commonly ranging from thousands to tens of millions of dollars, depending on the size of the case and the relator’s contribution.

For compliance officers, legal counsel, and risk managers:

>> Whistleblower programs are a critical enforcement tool and should be integrated into corporate compliance strategies.

>> Internal reporting mechanisms should be strengthened to encourage early disclosures and reduce external filings.

>> Retaliation safeguards must be enforced to maintain trust and legal compliance.

This program opens up new opportunities for whistleblower practitioners, whose cases can be greatly enhanced by collaboration with a firm that has dedicated itself to fighting anticompetitive schemes, frequently against some of the nation’s largest companies.