White House says Trump plans to give Nick Shirley a $10,000 check
WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to announce a $25 million program on Tuesday that would pay up to $30,000 for tips leading to government fraud convictions, according to the White House. The Justice Department will administer the program as part of Vice President JD Vance’s antifraud task force.
Tips may be submitted through a government website. The program would reward an individual with as much as $30,000 if the tip leads to a conviction.
Vance launched the antifraud task force this year to investigate the misuse of government funds. The Wall Street Journal reported that the task force has launched investigations into medical supply programs, food assistance benefits and the Affordable Care Act.
Tuesday’s planned announcement is the latest in a series of antifraud efforts. Last month, Vance’s antifraud task force said it would remove hundreds of thousands of enrollments from the Affordable Care Act’s public exchanges, saying those enrollees did not meet eligibility requirements or did not exist at all.
The White House said Trump planned to give Nick Shirley a $10,000 check as part of Tuesday’s announcement. The Wall Street Journal described Shirley as a “right-wing content creator” who produced a viral video last year making allegations of fraud involving daycare centers. Some of those allegations were debunked by Minnesota news outlets.
Trump has tied the initiative to a multiyear fraud scandal in Minnesota, in which federal prosecutors accused dozens of state residents of Somali descent of bilking taxpayers by setting up scam social-services companies. Earlier this year, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dropped his bid for a third term in the wake of the scandal.
“This administration has zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bi said.