Justice Department launches fraud tip program paying $10,000 to $30,000 once criminal charges are filed; Treasury commits $25 million

The Justice Department said Tuesday that it will pay people who report fraud an award of $10,000 to $30,000 when their information leads to criminal charges, under a new Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, or WHIP. The department’s release says the Treasury Department “is committing $25 million” to carry it out.¹

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance announced the program in the Oval Office on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.²

What the program covers

According to the release, the program pays for information about federal health care offenses and related crimes, and about fraud on programs and benefits run by the departments of Agriculture, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Veterans Affairs and War, and by the Small Business Administration. For health care fraud, it says the program will give priority to tips involving hospice, home health care, day care and special services.¹

The department describes WHIP as the first rewards program to pay “an up-front award for tips leading to criminal charges.” It says most existing government programs pay only after a criminal case is fully resolved, including forfeiture and appeals. Awards will be made “in the Justice Department’s sole discretion following the filing of criminal charges,” the release says. People who receive one stay eligible for additional awards through other programs, including the Criminal Division’s Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program.¹

The release tells the public to report fraud at america.gov/fraud and says the program’s terms and conditions are posted at justice.gov/fraud/whistleblower.¹

The program comes out of the department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, which the department announced on April 7. On Oct. 1, Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the division issued Directive 26-12, which told division leaders to design programs that encourage whistleblowers to bring forward credible information about fraud, according to the release.¹

The release ties the effort to the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Trump created the task force by executive order on March 16, 2026, and the order names the vice president as its chairman.¹³

What officials said

“Protecting the American people from fraud remains a top priority for the Department of Justice,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the release. McDonald called the program “exactly the kind of new and innovative tool we are bringing to the fight against fraud.”¹

At the White House event, Trump described a reward of 1% of the fraud a tip helps uncover. “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%,” he said, according to Fox News. Fox reported that he also said, “I’ll make that determination. It’ll be done expeditiously and fairly.”⁴

The AP reported that the White House said anyone whose tip leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action can receive up to $30,000. It quoted Vance as saying, “The president has said it must stop. It is stopping. And if you want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards.”²

What the records do not show

• The Justice Department release does not name the law or the account the $25 million comes from.¹
• The release ties awards to the filing of criminal charges. Its $10,000 to $30,000 range is not the 1% commission Trump described, and it does not say how the two fit together.¹⁴
• The release gives america.gov/fraud as the place to report. Fox News reported that Trump named a different address, fraud.gov.¹⁴
• The release does not say how many awards the $25 million is expected to cover or when the first payments will be made.¹