{"id":2688648,"date":"2026-10-20T21:49:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T01:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-announces-new-fraud-bounty-program-nick-shirley-first-to-cash-in\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T21:49:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T01:49:01","slug":"trump-announces-new-fraud-bounty-program-nick-shirley-first-to-cash-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-announces-new-fraud-bounty-program-nick-shirley-first-to-cash-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Announces New Fraud Bounty Program, Nick Shirley First to Cash In"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-announces-new-fraud-bounty-program-nick-shirley-first-to-cash-in%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2688648&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump is putting a price on fraudsters\u2019 heads.<\/p>\n<p>And for Americans willing to help expose fraud involving taxpayer dollars, that price could be quite lucrative.<\/p>\n<p>Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance announced a new federal anti-fraud initiative Tuesday, offering Americans cash rewards for tips that help uncover fraud involving government programs, as reported by the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/10\/20\/us-news\/vance-trump-to-offer-up-to-30k-bounty-for-tips-that-convict-fraudsters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The new Justice Department Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, or WHIP, will offer rewards of up to $30,000 for tips leading to federal fraud charges, with an initial funding pool of $25 million.<\/p>\n<p>But Trump sweetened the deal during Tuesday\u2019s Oval Office announcement, proposing an additional 1 percent commission if the funds are recovered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou could have stolen $2 trillion, or whatever the ultimate number is going to be, and at 1 percent people will make millions and millions of dollars for turning in what actually is a somewhat routine crime,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>The president also volunteered to personally arbitrate disputes over who deserves a reward, explaining that competing claims could arise over who originally exposed fraudulent activity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll determine whether or not the person is deserving\u2026 and I will be very generous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>And the administration already has its first intended recipient \u2014 conservative YouTube investigator Nick Shirley, whose investigations into alleged fraud at Minnesota day care centers attracted national attention last year.<\/p>\n<p>Shirley, 24, was slated to receive a $10,000 check at Tuesday\u2019s announcement, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/10\/20\/trump-present-youtuber-10000-check-new-anti-fraud-reward-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Washington Post<\/a>, although the New York Post reported that the check was not presented publicly.<\/p>\n<p>Shirley\u2019s videos featured active child care facilities that appeared empty, including one establishment whose sign infamously misspelled \u201clearning\u201d as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/infamous-quality-learing-center-day-care-officially-shuts\/\">learing<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it when I saw that,\u201d Shirley told Trump during the Oval Office event, referring to the misspelled sign.<\/p>\n<p>The president praised Shirley\u2019s investigative work, telling the young content creator, \u201cIt\u2019s too bad that you had to ruin your youth to find that such bad people exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new reward program differs from existing federal whistleblower initiatives in one significant respect: The Justice Department said qualifying payments can be issued following the filing of criminal charges, rather than waiting until a case has been fully resolved.<\/p>\n<p>Vance, who chairs the administration\u2019s federal anti-fraud task force, also emphasized that the proposed 1 percent commission would not necessarily be restricted to criminal prosecutions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you find the money and you help us recover it, then you benefit from the program,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>The vice president has made combating federal benefits fraud a major priority, including announcing last month that 750,000 Obamacare enrollees would be removed over suspected fraudulent enrollment, with another 450,000 under review.<\/p>\n<p>The administration\u2019s broader crackdown has also included withholding certain Medicaid reimbursements, suspending hundreds of purported hospice providers in California, and imposing restrictions on some Medicare equipment providers.<\/p>\n<p>Americans interested in reporting suspected fraud can submit tips through the government\u2019s fraud.gov website.<\/p>\n<p>And with a $30,000 reward potentially waiting for successful tipsters \u2014 plus the possibility of a considerably larger commission \u2014 the administration is betting that financial incentives will encourage more Americans to help uncover fraud involving taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; 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( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump is putting a price on fraudsters\u2019 heads. And for Americans willing to help expose fraud involving taxpayer dollars, that price could be quite lucrative. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance announced a new federal anti-fraud initiative Tuesday, offering Americans cash rewards for tips that help uncover fraud involving government programs, as reported<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2688649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-10-20T212711.456.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2688648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-10-20T212711.456.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2688648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2688649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2688648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2688648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2688648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}