Trump Announces $30K Fraud-Tip Bounty Program, Names Himself Arbitrator
The Justice Department's $25 million Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program pays up to $30,000 for tips that lead to fraud convictions. Trump sweetened the deal with a 1% cut of recovered money — and named himself the arbitrator of who gets paid.
President Donald Trump announced a new $25 million program on Tuesday that will pay people up to $30,000 for tips about government fraud, and said he will personally decide who receives the money.
The Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, administered by the Justice Department, was announced at a Tuesday afternoon event in the Oval Office with Vice President JD Vance, who leads the administration’s anti-fraud task force. Tips can be submitted through a government website, and payments run from about $10,000 to $30,000, according to a White House official.
Trump went further in the announcement itself, saying whistleblowers would also get a 1 percent commission on recovered funds, with no ceiling. “You could have stolen $2 trillion, or whatever the ultimate number is going to be, and at 1% people will make millions and millions of dollars for turning in what actually is a somewhat routine crime,” he said.
“Sometimes there’s a dispute as to who turned them in and who didn’t turn them in,” Trump said. “So I am going to do something which I think people will like. I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions. In other words, I’ll determine whether or not the person is deserving, and I’ll determine, and I will be very generous — I’ll make that determination. It’ll be done expeditiously and fairly, and we won’t have long lines waiting or court cases.”
The official guidance described before the event puts the cap at $30,000 and requires a successful prosecution or government enforcement action. Trump told reporters the 1 percent commission had no limit.
Conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley was in the Oval Office for the announcement and received the program’s first payout: $10,000. Shirley posted a viral video last December alleging fraud at Minnesota daycare centers, which prompted federal investigations, frozen payments and at least one wire fraud guilty plea. A woman featured in his video was later charged with fraud. Some of his allegations were debunked by Minnesota news outlets.
“If you find the money and help us recover it, then you benefit from the program,” Vance said. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the administration has “zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans.”
Trump tapped Vance to lead the anti-fraud initiative earlier this year. The task force has opened investigations into medical supply programs, food assistance benefits and the Affordable Care Act. Last month it said it would remove hundreds of thousands of enrollments from the ACA’s public exchanges, saying those enrollees didn’t meet eligibility requirements or didn’t exist at all. Earlier this month, Vance announced that Microsoft and seven other companies were suspended from a program allowing businesses to seek permanent residency for foreign workers, accusing them of abusing the system.
The announcement leans heavily on a multiyear fraud scandal in Minnesota, where dozens of state residents of Somali descent were accused by federal prosecutors of bilking taxpayers through scam social-services companies. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dropped his bid for a third term earlier this year as the scandal grew.
The program lands two weeks before the midterm elections, as polls show the cost of living weighing heavily on voters. The $30,000 payments pair the administration’s fraud crackdown with direct checks to Americans — a combination the White House has been pressing in Trump’s midterm campaign blitz.
