Hagens Berman represents whistleblowers under the federal Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program.

Hagens Berman is a national leader in both whistleblower representation and antitrust litigation and has recovered total antitrust settlements valued at nearly $55 billion, including the largest antitrust settlement in world history against the NCAA. Our firm has served in leadership roles in some of the nation’s most consequential antitrust cases and is uniquely positioned to guide whistleblowers through this newly established Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program. Our firm’s whistleblower practice has recovered millions of dollars for our whistleblower clients, including two client recoveries in the landmark $22 billion settlement with Bank of America. 

About the DOJ Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program

In July 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program in collaboration with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG). It is the first-ever government program to offer financial incentives to individuals who come forward with original, non-public information about criminal conduct that violates federal antitrust laws. 

The DOJ Antitrust Division’s new program encourages whistleblowers to report information that leads to criminal antitrust enforcement actions — such as price-fixing, bid-rigging and market allocation — to potentially receive up to 30% of funds recovered as a reward for blowing the whistle.

Eligibility & Whistleblower Reward Criteria

To qualify for a reward under DOJ’s Antitrust Whistleblower Program, whistleblowers must meet specific criteria:

  • Voluntarily provide original, specific, credible, non-public information that leads to a successful criminal antitrust prosecution and financial recovery.
  • Eligible criminal violations include violations of sections 1, 2, and 3 of the Sherman Act; acts committed to effectuate, facilitate, or conceal such violations; acts targeting or affecting federal, state, or local public procurement; and acts targeting or affecting the conduct of federal competition investigations or proceedings. 
  • The resolution of the action must include a criminal fine of at least $1 million or an equivalent recovery from a deferred prosecution or non-prosecution agreement.
  • Whistleblowers bringing successful complaints eligible for award are presumed to receive from 10 to 30% of criminal fines collected.
  • Whistleblowers must not have planned or led the criminal conduct.

Importantly, the program protects a whistleblower’s confidentiality if the whistleblower proceeds with an attorney; it also does not require whistleblowers to be U.S. citizens.

Why Work with Hagens Berman?

Hagens Berman’s team unites two critical strengths — a large top-ranked antitrust litigation practice challenging antitrust violations and a leading international whistleblower practice — with decades of experience successfully challenging corporate giants and securing landmark victories on behalf of consumers, whistleblowers and other victims of fraud. We are one of the very few firms in the country equipped to handle whistleblower claims involving antitrust violations with seasoned counsel litigating many of the most significant antitrust cases in the country. 

Hagens Berman has recovered antitrust settlements and verdicts valued at $55 billion on behalf of plaintiffs, making us one of the top antitrust plaintiffs’ firms in the nation. Our attorneys have led some of the nation’s most high-profile antitrust cases, including:

  • NCAA Name, Image and Likeness Litigation, $2.78 billion plus an additional $20 billion over 10 years 
    A class action against the NCAA and Power Five conferences alleging violations of federal antitrust law regarding payment to college athletes for the use of their names, images and likenesses. After two decades of fighting on behalf of athletes regarding this issue, the firm secured a monumental settlement for a class of more than 400,000 NCAA players. In addition to $2.78 billion in past damages, the total value of new payments and benefits to college athletes under the new revenue-sharing model is expected to exceed $20 billion over the next 10 years, making it the largest antitrust class-action settlement in history.
  • Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation, $25 billion
    Ssettlement agreements with Visa and Mastercard secured relief valued at as much as $25-87 billion, and injunctive relief reducing interchange rates, among other benefits.
  • Real Estate Broker Commissions Antitrust Litigation, $1 billion
    A class action against national broker franchises alleging parties illegally inflated commissions associated with home sales. $987 million in settlements have been granted final approval by the court as of July 2025, with an additional $20.09 million preliminarily approved, and litigation continues against remaining defendants
  • Antitrust Litigation in the High Tech Sector – $806 million, litigation is ongoing
    Hagens Berman has achieved monumental settlements against major tech corporations including Apple E-Books Antitrust ($616 million), an antitrust lawsuit alleging Apple and five of the nation’s top publishers colluded to raise the price of e-books for U.S. consumers. Steve’s litigation resulted in an unheard of recovery equal to twice consumers' actual damages. Apple took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the high court denied Apple’s request to review the case. Additional victories in this area include Google Play Store App Developers ($90 million) and Apple iOS App Developers ($100 million).
  • Antitrust Litigation in the Agribusiness Industry – $735 million, litigation is ongoing
    The firm leads class actions on behalf of U.S. consumers and employees in the meat-processing industry. As inflation continues to rise, combating anticompetitive schemes that raise the cost of food is an issue pertinent to families across the nation. The firm’s work in this area includes what we believe to be one of the largest class certifications in history, as well as the largest ever antitrust settlement on behalf of low-income workers, and the second-largest antitrust wage suppression case.

Our whistleblower team has represented insiders from Amgen, Bank of America, Pfizer, NYSE, Cargill Inc. and other publicly traded and multinational companies, as well as outsider whistleblowers who have identified unlawful conduct across leading U.S. industries. As one of the most respected whistleblower practices in the world, Hagens Berman has for more than 20 years navigated the complex protections and procedures under various whistleblower bounty programs including the False Claims Act, and later the subsequently enacted SEC, CFTC, IRS, FinCEN and now Antitrust Division programs. 

Our unique track record of success and experience in both antitrust and whistleblower practice is of enormous benefit to our clients who benefit from our reputation with the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other leading antitrust enforcement agencies at the state and federal level. We also assist antitrust whistleblowers in assessing other potential whistleblower reward programs and other litigation considerations where prudent.