US President Donald Trump has unveiled a whistleblower incentive programme offering financial rewards to people who help expose fraud involving taxpayer money, saying eligible tipsters could receive a 1% commission on funds uncovered. “If you turn somebody in and you, let’s say report, and you find $1 billion, we are giving a commission to that person of 1%,” Trump said on Tuesday at the White House.

Speaking alongside Vice President JD Vance and independent journalist Nick Shirley in the Oval Office, Trump announced the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program as part of his administration’s wider crackdown on fraud in federal programmes.

However, the payout structure Trump described differs from an earlier account of the initiative. A White House official had initially described a $25 million programme administered by the Justice Department, with rewards of up to $30,000 for tips leading to a successful fraud conviction or significant federal enforcement action.

The official said an allegation alone would not qualify for a reward. Information submitted must lead to a successful conviction or a significant federal enforcement action.

Trump said Americans could report suspected theft of taxpayer funds through fraud.gov. He also said he would personally settle disputes over who should receive rewards when multiple people provide information. “I’ll make that determination. It’ll be done expeditiously and fairly.”

Vance said the programme followed discussions with Trump about encouraging Americans to help investigators uncover fraud. “If you want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards.”

Trump also said journalists could participate, subject to applicable rules and approval from their employers.

The announcement comes after Shirley attracted national attention in December 2025 with a video questioning whether several Somali-run daycare centres in Minnesota were operating legitimately. The video showed apparently empty facilities and included accounts from people who said they had not seen children at the locations.

The White House credited Shirley’s reporting with helping prompt increased FBI and Department of Homeland Security activity in Minnesota, followed by investigations, arrests and new charges.

One facility featured in the video was Future Leaders Early Learning Center. Its former chief executive, Fahima Egeh Mahamud, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Prosecutors said Mahamud stole more than $4.6 million through false child care assistance claims and another $850,000 through a federal child nutrition programme linked to the Feeding Our Future scandal.

Shirley had previously described the guilty plea as vindication of his reporting. “Well, numbers don’t lie, and convictions don’t lie either.”

Trump praised the journalist’s work, telling him, “He’s done an amazing job.”

Shirley said his reporting had attracted threats and scrutiny directed at him rather than the suspected wrongdoing he was investigating.

“Instead of the mainstream media investigating the fraud they investigated me.”

Trump established the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in March, with Vance serving as chairman. The executive order directed the task force to coordinate federal agencies’ efforts to detect fraud, strengthen eligibility checks and prevent improper payments.

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the administration was committed to holding people accountable for stealing taxpayer money.

“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. This administration has zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans.”

The event also included an announcement by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz that the administration was deferring another $1.2 billion in California Medicaid payments directed towards personal care services.

Oz cited concerns about the programme’s spending growth and said information from people working inside businesses could help investigators identify wrongdoing.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, the task force’s vice chairman, called on Congress to introduce mandatory minimum prison sentences for benefits fraud and impose civil liability on state officials who fail to prevent fraud they could have stopped. (AriseNews TV)