Trump Announces $25 Million Fraud Whistleblower Program With Rewards of Up to $30,000 Per Tip

President Donald Trump announced a new $25 million fraud whistleblower incentive program on Tuesday that will pay people up to $30,000 for tips about government fraud that lead to successful prosecutions or enforcement actions.

The program, administered by the Justice Department, will accept tips through a government website, according to the White House. Trump announced the program at an Oval Office event joined by Vice President JD Vance, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson and conservative content creator Nick Shirley.

Trump said he would be the final arbitrator of award amounts, The Wall Street Journal reported. Individuals can receive payments of around $10,000 to $30,000 when a tip leads to a conviction, according to the White House.

Shirley, whose viral video last year made allegations of fraud involving Minnesota daycare centers, will receive the first $10,000 check, a White House official said. Some of those allegations were debunked by Minnesota news outlets, the Journal reported.

How the program will work

The program is part of Vance’s anti-fraud task force, which Trump created this year to investigate the misuse of government funds. 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 Affordable Care Act’s public exchanges, saying those enrollees did not meet eligibility requirements or did not exist.

“This administration has zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said in a statement.

The announcement comes weeks before the midterm elections, as polling shows the cost of living is a top concern for voters. Trump has recently promised $5,000 checks for every adult American if Republicans keep control of Congress, $500 rebate checks for people he said were overcharged for Affordable Care Act health policies, and $90 payments to 21 million seniors, USA Today reported.

Minnesota fraud cases in focus

Trump has focused much of his anti-fraud push on a multiyear fraud scandal in Minnesota, in which dozens of state residents of Somali descent were accused by federal prosecutors of bilking taxpayers by setting up scam social-services companies. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dropped his bid for a third term earlier this year in the wake of the scandal, The Wall Street Journal reported.

A sprawling fraud case has ensnared dozens of people in Minnesota, many of them U.S. citizens of Somali descent, and federal agents searched Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home this month as part of an investigation, USA Today reported.

Fraud whistleblowing already has legal machinery behind it. The False Claims Act allows people to file civil lawsuits on the government’s behalf against those suspected of fraud and collect a share of any recovery, according to the Justice Department.

Reporting based on coverage by The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.