The Treasury Department launched a new program Monday to reward fraud whistleblowers with up to 30% of fines that are imposed on criminals.
“As promised, Treasury will reward whistleblowers who provide timely, actionable information on fraud, sanctions violations, and other significant illicit finance activity,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“President Trump has been clear that Americans have a right to know that their tax dollars are not being diverted to fund acts of global terror or to fund luxury cars for fraudsters. At Treasury, we follow the money, and we strongly encourage individuals to come forward with credible tips to help safeguard our financial system.”
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network submitted a proposed rule to the Federal Register on Monday for the whistleblower payment program.
The program includes tipsters of Medicaid and Medicare fraud, according to The New York Post.
The launch comes after Bessent visited Minnesota in January, which is where Somali immigrants allegedly defrauded government welfare programs of at least $9 billion since 2018.
The reward payments will be directly from the fines, meaning that no taxpayer money will be used, according to confidential Treasury documents that the Post obtained.
“Individuals located in the United States or abroad who provide information may be eligible for awards if the information they provide leads to a successful enforcement action that results in monetary penalties exceeding $1,000,000,” one of the documents reads.
The Internal Revenue Service runs a similar program.
The program comes after Vice President JD Vance on Friday held the first meeting of a new anti-fraud task force that he is leading.
FinCEN also issued an advisory on Monday, warning financial institutions about fraud schemes targeting government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
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