Trump Offers Up to $30,000 for Fraud Tips in $25 Million Whistleblower Program

Updated 20:59 UTC

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance announced the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon, and Trump added terms that are not in the written guidance. He promised tipsters a commission of 1 percent of the money recovered through a tip, on top of the payments of up to $30,000 described by the White House, and he said the commission has no cap. "$100 billion, you get a 1% commission, and I think that will be amazing," he said.

Trump also named himself the judge of disputed claims. "I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions," he said, calling it binding arbitration and saying he would decide whether a claimant deserves payment. The written program guidance ties payments to tips that lead to criminal charges. Trump told reporters charges would not necessarily be required. Nick Shirley, the Minnesota video maker, received the first payment at the event, a $10,000 check. Trump also accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar of being "100% guilty" in the state's benefit fraud cases, according to the New York Post.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are set to announce a $25 million program on Tuesday that pays people up to $30,000 for tips about government fraud, the White House said. A tip only earns money if it leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action.

The program is called the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, or WHIP. The Justice Department will run it, and people will send tips through a government website, fraud.gov, according to a White House official who spoke ahead of the announcement.

An Oval Office announcement

Trump and Vance were scheduled to announce the program together in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon, with members of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Trump created that task force in March and put Vance in charge of it. The group coordinates work across federal agencies to find fraud, tighten eligibility checks and stop improper payments.

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the administration has zero tolerance for people who steal from Americans. "Every day, President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is zeroing in on the rampant abuse of taxpayer dollars and giving Americans the accountability they deserve," she said.

The first check goes to a Minnesota video maker

At the event, Trump planned to hand a $10,000 check to Nick Shirley, a conservative influencer whose video last year alleged fraud at day care centers in Minnesota. The video drew national attention and was followed by federal investigations, searches and arrests in the state.

One woman featured in the case, Fahima Mahamud, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, after prosecutors said she sent in inflated claims for meals said to have been served to children at her child care center, the Justice Department said.

The record is not one sided. State inspectors said the centers in the video were operating as expected, and Minnesota news outlets challenged and debunked some of the allegations in it. The White House did not say whether Shirley's payment was tied to a tip that produced a conviction.

A wider anti fraud campaign

The reward program is the newest piece of a campaign Vance has been promoting around the country. 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 health law's insurance exchanges, saying those listed either did not meet the rules or did not exist.

Earlier this month, Vance said Microsoft and seven other companies had been suspended from a program that lets businesses seek permanent residency for foreign workers, accusing them of abusing the system. At the same event, Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said he is investigating visa fraud at nine universities.

Why it lands before the midterms

The announcement comes two weeks before the midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake. Fraud has been a regular theme of Trump's campaign stops, alongside direct payments to Americans. Polling shows cost of living is a top concern for voters, and Trump and Republican leaders have struggled to sell their economic agenda, USA Today reported.

For now, the test of the program is simple. It pays nothing for an allegation on its own. The money moves only when a tip produces a conviction or a major enforcement action, and the Justice Department, not the tipster, decides whether that bar was met.