Republican President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the federal government will pay whistleblowers who help identify fraud 1 percent of the total amount uncovered.
The president said the $25 million program encourages the public to report suspected fraud.
The White House said under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, anyone who submits a tip to fraud.gov that leads to prosecution or a conviction is eligible to receive up to $30,000. The Justice Department will administer the program.
Trump also said he will personally decide who gets to collect reward money when more than one person claims to have provided the tip.
Trump announced the program from the Oval Office, including several attacks against Minnesota.
That's in part because Vice President JD Vance gave YouTube commentator Nick Shirley — whose widely shared, politically charged video on fraud in Minnesota pushed the issue into the national spotlight — a $10,000 check, the first payment from the program. Several allegations made in the video were unsubstantiated.
Trump blamed DFL Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Gov. Tim Walz, a frequent target, for social services fraud cases in the state.
“Nick's work to stop taxpayers from being ripped off is a direct threat to the radical left's effort to turn America into a third world country ruled by people who hate America,” Trump said.
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