Trump launches $25 million fraud tip program, gives YouTuber first $10,000

Trump described the program in bigger terms. "If anybody turns anybody in… you get a 1 percent commission," he said, according to The Hill, adding that there would be "no limit" and that "people will make millions of dollars by turning others in," according to USA Today. He also said he would act as the "binding" arbitrator when more than one person claims the same award. "I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions," he said, as quoted by Reuters. "I will be very generous, believe me."

What's new about it: most federal reward programs pay only after a case is fully resolved, including forfeiture and appeals. The Justice Department says WHIP pays once charges are filed, and tipsters can still collect larger awards later through other programs. Attorney General Todd Blanche urged "all Americans to use this program."

The first award went to Nick Shirley, 24, a conservative YouTuber whose December 2025 video alleged that Minnesota day care centers were taking public money without providing care. A White House official said he would get $10,000, a figure first reported by Fox News. "There's never been an incentive for anyone to ever expose fraud," Shirley said. Vance said Shirley had "done more than anybody that I've met recently as a citizen journalist to uncover the fraud." Reuters reported that it was not clear how Shirley was selected.

The record on Shirley's video is mixed. Minnesota's children's services department called some of its claims misleading and exaggerated, and a CBS News review of state records in late December found most of the centers licensed and recently inspected, with safety citations but no recorded evidence of fraud at that point. One center shown in the video, Quality Learning Center, received $1.9 million from the state's child care aid program in fiscal 2025 and closed in January, and a woman who appeared in one of his videos has since pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, CBS reported. A broader federal fraud case in Minnesota has charged dozens of people.

What the evidence shows: the Justice Department's written terms do not match the president's description. The department's release sets awards at $10,000 to $30,000, says they are paid "in the Justice Department's sole discretion" after charges are filed, and caps the program's funding at $25 million; it mentions neither a 1% commission nor a role for the president (source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-innovative-whistleblower-rewards-program-combat-fraud). Vance's 99% figure came without a published basis, so US Brief could not check it.

Primary document: what Trump said in the Oval Office versus what the Justice Department wrote. Trump said 1% of recovered money with no cap; DOJ says $10,000 to $30,000 per qualifying tip. Trump said payment comes "if we recover the money"; DOJ says awards follow criminal charges. Trump said he will arbitrate; DOJ says the department decides. Both agree on the $25 million and on reporting through the government's fraud site.

Program details come from the Justice Department's Oct. 20 press release. Trump's and Vance's remarks come from The Hill, USA Today, Reuters and CBS News accounts. The $10,000 figure for Shirley's award was given to reporters by a White House official and Fox News reported it first. It was not clear Tuesday how Shirley was chosen or which tip the award covers, and the White House pointed reporters back to Trump's comments when asked how the 1% commission fits the written terms.