Trump announces $25 million whistleblower scheme that could see Americans get paid for reporting fraud
President Donald Trump has announced a new $25m initiative that will see rewards for people who send in tips to the government leading to fraud prosecutions.
The new project will be named the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP).
Under the plan, a tipster whose information leads to a conviction would be paid a 1% commission on the fraud's dollar value, Trump said.
Reports go through fraud.gov, with the Department of Justice running the program, although how Trump himself would factor into final award decisions has not been made clear.
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The White House fraud website described rewards of up to $30,000 for tips that lead to a successful fraud conviction or significant federal enforcement action.
"If your information leads to criminal charges, you may be eligible for up to $30,000," the website reads, adding: 'Submitting a report does not guarantee a reward'.
When Trump spoke, he described a different structure, with the 1% commission front and center. He said successful tipsters would be paid 'immediately,' and that he would serve as 'arbitrator' in more complicated cases, including any where rival tipsters might need to split a payment.
Journalists can take part as well, as long as their employers approve.
"We're going to let the reporters partake because you know a lot of things that are happening, maybe many cases more than most others," Trump said.
Vance, who chairs the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud that Trump established in March, said the idea came out of a conversation with the president about enlisting Americans to help investigators uncover fraud.
"If you want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards," he said.
Who is Nick Shirley?
Shirley is set to become the program's first recipient, with a $10,000 award. He is an independent journalist who rose to national prominence in December 2025 with a video asking whether several Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota were genuine businesses. The facilities appeared empty in the footage, and people who appeared in it said they had not seen children at the locations.
The White House credited his reporting with helping prompt a surge of FBI and Department of Homeland Security resources into Minnesota, followed by investigations, arrests and new charges.
Fahima Egeh Mahamud, the former CEO of Future Leaders Early Learning Center, which appeared in his video, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Separately, Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration is deferring another $1.2 billion in California Medicaid payments for personal care services.
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Crime
Thomas Bamford