By Stephen Dinan (The Washington Times)
President Trump escalated his war on fraud Tuesday, announcing what he called a groundbreaking program to pay a 1% “commission” to anyone who successfully exposes fraudulent activity in government programs.
It is the latest idea from a president who has put fraud at the forefront of the public conversation, promising prosecutions for the fraudsters, penalties for state and local officials who allow fraud to fester, and now rewards for those who help investigators root it out.
Underscoring his personal commitment, Mr. Trump said he would get involved in making decisions about who should be paid. He said he planned to be “generous” with his judgments.
“We’re going to make it very easy and very quick, and people can make a lot of money,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
The idea for fraud bounties came from Mr. Trump himself, said Vice President J.D. Vance, who leads the White House Waste, Fraud and Abuse Task Force.
Mr. Trump has elevated fraud to front-page news in his second administration, forcing a nationwide focus. That includes Democratic-run states, where governors and attorneys general issue major fraud enforcement announcements, even as they complain about Mr. Trump’s efforts.
No government program seems immune from fraud, with scammers targeting food stamps, rental assistance and college financial aid.
Yet it is the large medical programs that are drawing the most attention.
Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced Tuesday that the agency will defer $1.2 billion meant for California because of concerns over its surge in personal care services.
He said California’s program has grown by 24% from fiscal years 2022 to 2025, far outpacing other states’ growth, and that it is “impossible for us to understand.”
Mr. Trump’s Justice Department has created an anti-fraud division that is pursuing criminal cases nationwide.
The White House is pushing for Congress to pass legislation creating a mandatory minimum sentence for fraudsters, so judges cannot give them probation, and separate legislation that would create civil liability for state officials who allow fraud.
Thomas Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, said there has long been a war on government waste, but Mr. Trump has broken through by focusing specifically on fraud.
That, he said, has resonated.
“It’s all part of the same problem, but it makes it easier to explain and understand, and then realize that something should be done to stop that money from being wasted,” he said.
The goal, he said, is for the effort to last beyond Mr. Trump.
Mr. Schatz said it should be easy, given advances in technology for analyzing spending.
“Hopefully, this becomes a systematic process or an ongoing process no matter who is in office,” Mr. Schatz said.
Joining the president Tuesday was Nick Shirley, a YouTube creator and online influencer whose investigative videos on fraud in federally funded social services in Minnesota helped propel the issue. Mr. Vance said Mr. Shirley will receive a $10,000 inaugural reward from the new fraud bounty program.
Mr. Vance said Mr. Shirley will receive a financial reward from the new fraud bounty program. Mr. Trump said journalists can also receive payments — if their jobs allow them to accept the money.
The anti-fraud effort has attracted some backlash.
California has enacted a law that would allow the state to shield the personal information of workers at immigrant-serving nonprofits and deem the online publication of that information “doxing.”
Critics have dubbed the law the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.” They say it is an assault on the First Amendment.
Mr. Trump appeared to be revising the bounty program’s terms during his remarks to the press.
Earlier reports indicated that the bounty for fraud would be capped at $30,000 under a $25 million Justice Department program structure, but Mr. Trump said he would not have a hard cap.
“If anybody turns anybody in — $1 billion, $5 billion, $100 billion — you get a 1% commission,” the president said.
The government already has a bounty program under the False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers to claim 15% to 30% of any money recovered.
That is a complicated process involving the courts, though a small industry has sprung up around private parties making successful claims about companies that engaged in COVID-19 pandemic fraud.
Mr. Vance said the 1% commission will apply to a larger set of government programs.
This article was made available to WMAL via The Washington Times.
