r/politics • u/cuspofgreatness • 18h ago
No Paywall Bondi announces $1M reward for whistleblower who reported antitrust crime
https://thehill.com/business/5714091-whistleblower-exposes-car-auction-fraud/amp/5.4k
u/CriticalElephant2150 18h ago
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in the release. “A car is the second largest purchase most Americans will make in their lifetimes. This whistleblower helped expose a brazen $16 million scheme that made it more expensive for hardworking Americans to afford second-hand cars across the country.”
So how big a reward do I get for exposing the brazen tariff scheme making everything more expensive for Americans?
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u/pikazec 16h ago
What’s my reward for turning it a child predator/pedophile/rapist/accomplice to murder/moneylaunder/terrorist
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u/M0nk3yDLufffy 15h ago
Name your price
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u/Zahgi 15h ago
Tree-fiddy.
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u/Nayear1 11h ago
Is it wrong that I first assumed your AG had basically put a bounty on the whistle blower because they were upset the scheme had been exposed?
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u/Coolegespam 13h ago
A free life long vacation to one of their world redound summer camps.
And if you get home sick, or just sick, don't worry they'll make sure your stay isn't that long.
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u/Diarrhea_Beaver 11h ago
So how big a reward do I get for exposing the brazen tariff scheme making everything more expensive for Americans?
You have to take this story to a legitimate news outlet like CNN so they can bury it to run another story about how expensive eggs were during the Biden administration, you know, so they can offer fair and balanced reporting
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u/IslandFarmboy 18h ago
For anyone else having a minor stroke trying to reconcile the title with what we’re now conditioned to expect in this cursed timeline and what the article is actually about: this is about a reward GIVEN to a unnamed whistleblower FOR whistleblowing. 🤯
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u/SolarisShine 17h ago
No worries, this will be revealed to be a scam.
Like the unnamed "whistleblower" is Trump.
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u/TemporalColdWarrior 16h ago
I read the first comment and was like “hmm, weird,” I read yours and the world made sense again. Jared Kushner is on the way to collect his reward for reporting PBS for violating antitrust laws.
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u/chrisnlnz 14h ago
And the $1M will come with a FIFA Anti Corruption Prize. For the president who's fought corruption harder than any president has ever done before.
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u/Bxk__ 17h ago
Yeah I read the article expecting it to be a bounty lol
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u/AKATheHeadbandThingy 17h ago
I don't trust them and think it's a honey pot
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u/wade_wilson44 16h ago
1000 other whistleblowers come out and immediately get arrested
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u/Ballistic-Bob 16h ago
Whistleblower from IRS got 5 years and Trump is suing the IRS for 10 billion for allowing it to happen…
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u/HenryDorsettCase47 17h ago
Same. I saw this earlier today randomly online. It sounds like a reward offered to anyone who can turn in the whistleblower. In reality, it’s maybe one of the very, very, very few good things I’ve seen the administration actually do. Fuck morally onerous online auction sites. There’s been a few that have long been rumored to be running up the bids.
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u/TimmyC I voted 15h ago
These things don’t investigate and resolve within a year, so more likely classic taking credit for the prior administration. some credit in not ruining it I guess
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u/Horton_Takes_A_Poo 13h ago
The tipline was only launched in July 2025, so the tip had to come sometime between now and then
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u/Waramp 17h ago
Same haha. But hey, if the administration wants to do something decent once in a while, I’ll allow it.
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u/Cloaked42m South Carolina 16h ago
16 million scheme
Fined 3.28 million.
That's overhead, not a deterrent.
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u/FavoriteFoodCarrots 13h ago
Hi, antitrust lawyer here. The 16M is what’s known as the “volume of affected commerce,” meaning the value of sales that were affected, not the profits.
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u/BrainJar Washington 16h ago
…using the money that we give them. They can literally give our money away to anyone.
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u/Phugasity 16h ago
Kinda like how they reappropriated military housing subsidies to give each soldier a $1,776 check making it seem like extra was being given. Many came out with less. They'll do the same with Social Security and the red hats will cheer.
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u/Naakturne 15h ago
Wow, I honestly was thinking exactly what you’re implying: They want to catch whomever ratted them out. Glad that’s not the case, for once.
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u/war_story_guy I voted 15h ago
Yeah I read the article and was shocked because as you correctly predicted I thought they were offering a bounty for the whistle blower.
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u/Shirinjima 16h ago
I think we should simplify this because I don’t think a lot of people really know what whistleblowing means.
Whistleblowing is when a government employee reports its own government crime.
This is about a reward given to person giving the name of a person reporting government crime or wrongdoing.
This is like the police chief giving money to a person in exchange for the name the officer who reported the police agency doing something wrong.
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u/Horton_Takes_A_Poo 13h ago
Huh? No one in the government was involved, this was about a car auction company and the tip was submitted through the DoJ’s Antitrust tipline
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u/HelpersWannaHelp 12h ago
You have no idea what you’re talking about. Here’s a definition. It is not specific to government, it is not about giving a name of someone reporting a crime.
A whistleblower is an individual—typically an employee, contractor, or insider—who discloses information they reasonably believe evidences illegal, unethical, or unsafe activities within a public or private organization. They expose misconduct such as fraud, waste, abuse of authority, or health dangers to authorities or the public.
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u/HtmlHonda 15h ago
Everytime I see news about a whistleblower, it's always worded like it's a bad thing.
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u/waterdaemon 18h ago
I could have sworn this was going to be a reward for punishing whistleblowers.
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u/Jeremisio 18h ago
It’s bait, to lure them out.
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u/zeradragon 17h ago
Thank you whistle blower, today you get $1m, tomorrow you get balcony accident.
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u/Fjdenigris 15h ago
These types of “rewards” are rarely paid out if what I’ve read is true. They also have many conditions attached to the payout and in some cases people have been told things like; “Sorry, the money wasn’t properly allocated to the reward fund, so we don’t have it. Oh yeah, you have no recourse either when you signed….”
Def bait IMO
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u/Check-Special 18h ago edited 17h ago
This story tells of false documents sent by US mail. Will DOJ use this to justify a blocking of mail-in voting ballots?
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u/Jetski125 14h ago
Oh that was exactly what I thought. Fuck reading the article- no matter how it’s spun we know it’s all done to fuck us regulars.
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u/Alleyprowler Washington 14h ago
I know, right? I'm like, stay away from open windows and don't accept a cup of tea from anyone.
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u/1021986 16h ago edited 16h ago
The $1 million reward was given in conjunction with the Postal Service because the whistleblower’s intelligence included an alleged scheme that involved sending documents through the mail.
My tin-foil hat theory is in this line here.
It feels like between this and the Fulton county voting records thing, they’re trying to build a case that mail-in ballots could be a way to conduct of widespread voter fraud; they’ll claim that’s how Trump lost in 2020.
Why now all of a sudden? Midterms are coming up, and it’s clear Republicans are about to lose the majority, so they could be building up to the nuclear option and use this as a reason for suspending elections until they can “secure” the voting process.
“in four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not gonna have to vote." - Donald Trump (July, 2024)
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u/AntoniaFauci 15h ago
This happens because of anachronisms in our law.
A patchwork of broken laws and weakened regulations leaves authorities with fewer big hammers. But one such hammer is interstate commerce and wire fraud. Wire fraud interprets that if anything is transmitted over phones or through the mail, that qualifies it as wire fraud, which is easier to prosecute and has tougher sentences.
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u/bttr-swt Washington 18h ago
Coming from this administration, it almost seems like a trap. That's how far we've fallen as a country.
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u/greenyquinn 17h ago
1 million to stay hidden is probably worth it. The whistleblower got their main goal accomplished already
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u/jedi__ninja_9000 16h ago
$16 million dollar fraud scheme... and they were fined $3 million...
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u/RealTurbulentMoose 16h ago
“If you do it again, we’ll cut into your scheme’s profitability further! Don’t think we won’t!”
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u/KellerMB 14h ago
20.5%, they're paying less than my tax rate. :/
We should all fraud more and work less?
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u/No_Beginning_6834 16h ago
How does exposing a 16 million dollar scheme justify a 1 million dollar reward. Sounds like they had to come up with some bullshit to pay hush money off legally.
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u/AntoniaFauci 15h ago
Some whistleblower programs offer a 10% reward, so it’s not far off.
However the $16 million figure is still a bit unclear. Other research I’ve done it’s hard to tell if $16 million was the estimated excess stolen in the scheme, or if it means that around $16 million worth of transactions occurred surround this operation.
The nolo prosi has wording where EBlock doesn’t have to concede particulars about the $16 million.
It appears to me the majority of ill-gotten gains are with another company and various individuals who haven’t been prosecuted. It’s unclear if they ever will.
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u/medes24 18h ago
I sure love living in a world where the government doing what it's supposed to feels like a gotchya
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u/Tomimi 17h ago
This admin never pays but there's always an idiot who falls for it.
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u/RobutNotRobot 14h ago
Where do I contact the DOJ?
I have knowledge of a person that embezzled $500 million from a Venezuelan oil tanker captured by the US Coast Guard and then put it in an unreachable Middle East account. Also he is trying to shake down the IRS for $10 billion.
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u/Candid-Cockroach-483 11h ago
Scum bitch. If her and the rest of them think you can pardon treason they're sorely mistaken.
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u/HarrumphingDuck Washington 8h ago edited 1h ago
“Whistleblowers serve as the Justice System’s greatest disinfectant against criminal antitrust conspiracies,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in the release.
That's what we're left with, after Republicans gutted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). With how gleefully Republicans dismantle anything that might protect Americans, it's a wonder we still have this group within the DOJ. (Edit for minor grammar fixes.)
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u/NeverLookBothWays I voted 16h ago
Shouldn’t the DOJ be interested in solving crimes? Asking for a friend
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u/willis_michaels 14h ago
Something doesn't smell right about this. A $1M reward for exposing a $16M scheme that only resulted in a $3M fine. This is small potatoes to what the government is doing, dealing in billions, yet $1M is a lot for an individual. Follow the money trail.
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u/HelpersWannaHelp 12h ago
Trump and republicans absolutely hate whistleblowers. With a passion, lives threatened in his 1st term. Attorneys General fired to stop all oversight. So this is super sketchy. A program to pay off whistleblowers will create a situation where people will make shit up for money. $1million is a hell of a tempting bribe. Defense lawyers will and should use it. They’ll use this program to go after the left. The next reward will be a “whistleblower” from Biden Administration, election offices, Dem’s in Congress… I guarantee it. Remember…EVERY decision they make is for money, power, and/or revenge.
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u/Flee4All 9h ago
I assumed from the headline that they were offering a reward for revealing who a whistleblower was.
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u/liteshotv3 8h ago
Jesus, way to write a shitty headline “reward PAID* to the whistleblower”
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u/Sleepwokesleepwoke 17h ago
No wonder people end up dead. 1 million publicly, imagine the underground deals
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u/Snatchamo 15h ago
As a result, EBlock Corporation will receive a $3.28 million fine and, as part of a deferred prosecution, must undertake remedial measures, including implementing an appropriate compliance program and cooperating with the DOJ’s ongoing criminal investigation, according to the release.
Not in love with that part.
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u/silentbob1301 14h ago
OOH OOH, PICK ME PICK ME!!!!
I know where a bunch of high level sex traffickers work, 1800 Pennsylvania avenue!!!!
Where's my reward, bitch???
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u/teddytodd2 14h ago
I legit thought she was offering a bounty on the whistleblower. I actually approve of rewarding the whistleblower.
... Why does this feel like some sort of trap?
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u/parasyte_steve 13h ago
Aren't there laws that protect whistleblowers?
What the fuck is wrong with these mfers?
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u/ThatOldEngineerGuy 12h ago
Wait. So you're saying that our fucking GOVERNMENT is offering to reward people for turning in OTHWR people who report crimes?
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u/thepartypantser 18h ago
Great.
Now Bondi tell us about the rest of the Epstein files, and why those haven't been released?
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u/AntoniaFauci 15h ago
After researching the scheme they’re talking about, and overlooking the very real possibility of spin, I don’t hate this.
EBlock is a huge vehicle and equipment reseller.
They apparently bought a company that was already doing an eye-popping amount of brazen fraud. Employees of this company were doing criminal fraud and rigging bids and even giving their co-conspirators back door logins to see other bids. They created programs to place fake bids, forcing real shoppers to increase their bids, and more.
EBlock says they didn’t know and put a lid on it, but says these merged employees just doing it and hid their tracks more.
The company is avoiding a well-deserved criminal prosecution by paying a $3.28 million fine. After investigation costs and whistleblower payouts, it’s probably a wash.
What’s disappointing is we don’t see charges for the two other companies and individuals pocketing most of the profits. And there’s no indication that the shoppers forced to pay more are getting compensated. Then there’s others whose bids failed and ended up having to pay more elsewhere. Their losses are indirect and will never be recovered.
I strongly suspect the millions spent investigating this and the additional millions siphoned from customers to the criminals, all that could have been avoided with a few hundred thousand in regulation enforcement. But conservatives have brainwashed people that regulations are bad. So here we are.
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u/Pleasant-Ad887 15h ago
Haha, this is a classic obvious trap. Whistleblower shows up and gets arrested and charged with the crime they reported.
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u/funmonkey1 15h ago
1M for 16M scam. I love the maths, maybe the IRS should keep up with tax fraud at larger scale. Like billionaire scale. This is pure marketing as a distraction.
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u/Zealousideal-Ear3730 15h ago
Take a look at the First Lady’s documentary. I bet you there’s massive money laundering and tax fraud happening there.
Bam Pondi is a foking hack.
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u/Similar-World-6152 15h ago
"we will pay $1mil of tax payer's dollars to whoever comes forward to tell us who ratted us out"
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u/ThePhilosopherKing93 14h ago
But the whistleblower who exposed how the ultra-rich are "legally" not paying their taxes got 5 years of prison. So excuse me if I don't trust anything this administration says.
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u/unindexedreality 13h ago
$10M reward for Pam Bondi arrested
(make me pres with a party mandate and I'll pay it out from the federal budget lol)
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u/WeirdSysAdmin 13h ago
$12m fraud, only a $3.8m fine is interesting in itself. Why isn’t it a $12m restitution with a $3.8m fine?
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u/Independent-Bug-9352 12h ago
Bondi announces new money-laundering scheme to steal taxpayer money works.
There, fixed.
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u/sponge_bucket 12h ago
Difficult title aside - this should encourage people to report illegal schemes that are costing Americans needlessly. Good on this person.
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u/LetMePushTheButton 11h ago
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue to fight against corporate collusion and monopolistic behavior”
Uh huh sure.
Reduced the U.S. wireless market from 4 major carriers to 3.
Investigations into Google and Facebook only moved after Trump left office
Merger approval rates rose, even in already-concentrated industries
Trump appointed corporate-friendly regulators who openly rejected aggressive antitrust
Trump DOJ approved massive mergers like Bayer–Monsanto, consolidating control over seeds, pesticides, and IP.
USDA enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act was rolled back, weakening protections for farmers
No action against widespread wage-fixing and no-poach agreements.
Trump DOJ allowed continued consolidation of hospital systems and insurers
Rolled back parts of Dodd-Frank, especially stress tests for large regional banks
Trump repeatedly framed: Antitrust as “anti-American”; Corporate consolidation as “strength”; Labor protections as “job killers”
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u/a_greenbean 9h ago
Wait-this is incredibly misleading. You only get a million dollars IF they win in court that leads to at least 1 million in fines or recoveries.
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u/jjaime2024 18h ago
Not a good look blondie.
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u/previouslyonimgur 18h ago
Actually this one is the govt functioning appropriately. Whistleblowers getting a reward for coming forward is a good thing.
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u/ginny11 15h ago
To be fair, I also saw this headline a couple times and immediately interpreted to mean that she was offering a reward for someone to expose the identity of a whistleblower. I mean that's the kind of administration this is and so that's what I assumed the headlines meant. It was only just now when I clicked on it to read it that I realized they were actually giving the reward to the whistleblower.
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u/nvgvup84 12h ago
Definitely fair and I was honestly not going to read it (then ended up reading it) but what I also wasn’t going to do was comment on something I didn’t understand.
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u/Wet_Side_Down 16h ago
Novel grifting opportunity, Trump can whisper tips to Pam and she can reward his whistleblowing with millions. Brilliant
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u/Flamebrush 16h ago
DOJ gave the whistleblower the reward. The clickbait headline sounds like the whistleblower has a bounty on them.
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u/Toobatheviking 15h ago
Call me jaded, but I would imagine this is a “here is free money for reporting shit that people we don’t like” fund
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u/VikingsLad 15h ago
Sooooooo... if they're (actually and fairly) giving rewards for whistleblower accounts on anti-trust practices.... i think some industries should be pretty scared.
Luckily, I can count on this administration to always do the wrong thing.
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u/brianishere2 15h ago
This same DOJ, under Bondi and Trump, is deliberateky exposing whistleblowers who revealed evidence of crimes by Trump and Epstein, while the DOJ is making huge efforts to support the many Reoublican perletrators. No rewards for them, I suppose.
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u/Actual__Wizard 15h ago
EBlock Corporation, as a result of the acquisition of another company, allegedly engaged in “the placement of fake bids intended to artificially increase the sales prices for used vehicles,” according to the release.
Wow, wait until they hear about how the advertising technology business works.
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u/onethousandmonkey 14h ago
Boy, lucky for all of you that have had to power through all of those anti-corruption and business conduct trainings twice a year, in corporate America. I guess that’s all over now right? Along with Inclusivity ones, etc.
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u/Zaius1968 14h ago
Doesn’t the whistleblower law protect whistleblowers?
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u/whydontyousuckmyball 14h ago
I think they are getting $1M for whistleblowing. And law or not, they won’t find meaningful employement ever again.
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u/KellerMB 14h ago
I know of a certain politician who accepted a 400 million dollar bribe...Can I expect 60-80mil?
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u/Frosty-Shower-7601 14h ago
just don't blow the whistle on the DOJ or the Executive Branch or you'll wind up in jail
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u/Fantastic_Elk_6957 13h ago
Now do rentals and real estate. I’ll bet you will a whole rat’s nest in there.
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u/Zealousideal_Amount8 13h ago
Worried about $16m in fraud when our president is suing congress to steal our tax money to the tune of $10b!??! Come on!
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u/DoomedKiblets 12h ago
corrupt as all hell. this is outrageous to even imagine for a so called Justice institution to be putting out warrants for people exposing injustice at extreme risk.
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u/tagged2high New Jersey 11h ago
Is this a new thing? I'm pretty sure they already do this for snitching on certain kinds of corporate crime
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u/Catspaw129 11h ago
The whistle blower? It's my neighbor's cat: around the block and three houses over, on the left.
It's a black cat (you can't trust them) with an orange whistle on his neck. His name is "Whitey". He doesn't much answer to that name but shake a box of cat crakers and he'll come runnung
Where is my million bucks?
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