President Donald Trump announced a federal whistleblower reward effort on Oct. 20, saying the government will pay people who report fraud and help prosecutors, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) report carried by the Western Journal that cites a Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs press release.
The Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP) would award up to $30,000 to tipsters whose information leads to federal charges for government fraud, the DCNF report said. The report describes it as a $25 million program that pays before conviction—at the prosecution stage—unlike many traditional whistleblower awards.
First reported payout
Independent journalist Nick Shirley was identified in the report as the first recipient, receiving $10,000 in the Oval Office on Oct. 20 for work exposing Somali daycare fraud in Minnesota, according to the DCNF account. “When you expose fraud, you help America,” Shirley said.
The report adds that while Trump initially mentioned a 1% commission on recovered funds, DOJ clarified that WHIP payments would range from $10,000 to $30,000.
DOJ fraud push, per the report
The DOJ created a Fraud Division on April 7, the press release stated, according to the DCNF. “The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people,” the cited press release said. On Oct. 14, DOJ and the IRS exposed more than $490 million in tax fraud, the report added.
Cases the report cites in Minnesota
The DCNF report says the former director of the Minnesota-based Feeding Our Future nonprofit was sentenced to 41 years in prison in May for stealing nearly $250 million in government funds through a COVID-era meal program scheme. It also says a young Somali CEO pleaded guilty in March to defrauding $6 million through an autism center scam.
Claims that need verification
Trump is quoted as saying, “The kind of money that’s been stolen from this country is trillions.” That is a claim in the report, not independently substantiated here. Patriots Beacon has not yet verified the DOJ press release, the launch or terms of WHIP, the reported $10,000 Oval Office payment to Shirley, the creation of a new DOJ Fraud Division, the $490 million tax-fraud exposure, or the Minnesota case outcomes cited.
Editor’s note: This story is a rewrite based solely on the DCNF-cited report and requires further independent confirmation before drawing conclusions.
