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During the announcement, Trump said payments will amount to a 1%
commission on the amount of fraud the tip helps uncover. Trump
also said he will decide who gets reward money in cases where
more than one person claims to have provided the tip.
“I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions,” Trump in
the Oval Office with Vance and other administration officials
standing behind him. “It'll be a binding arbitration.”
Trump said journalists could participate in the program.
The Republican president has undertaken an aggressive effort to
eliminate fraud in government, establishing a task force on the
topic in March and putting Vance in charge of it.
Critics have accused Trump and his family of profiting from the
presidency through their many business ventures. The White House
says Trump acts only with the best interests of the American
people in mind.
Vance, who said his work leading the task force is “fun,” said
tax dollars are being stolen.
“The president has said it must stop. It is stopping. And if you
want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards," the
vice president said.
The White House had said Trump would present a $10,000 check to
Nick Shirley, a right-wing influencer who posted a video last
year that said members of Minnesota’s Somali community were
running fake childcare centers to collect federal subsidies. But
a check was not given to Shirley in the presence of journalists.
The 24-year-old's video caught the attention of the Trump
administration and conservative activists, though inspectors
said the centers were operating as expected. Investigations,
searches and arrests followed.
Shirley said during the event that fraud robs from poor and
needy people.
“When you expose fraud, you help save America,” he said.
In July, Fahima Mahamud pleaded guilty to wire fraud and
conspiracy to defraud the United States by submitting inflated
reimbursement claims for meals allegedly served to children at
her childcare center, according to the Justice Department.
The White House says Mahamud was featured in Shirley's video.
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