President Donald Trump plans to hand right-wing influencer Nick Shirley a $10,000 check on Tuesday as he unveils a new program paying Americans up to $30,000 for tips about government fraud.
The Justice Department will run the $25 million program, called the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, which is part of Vice President JD Vance’s antifraud task force. Payouts go to tips that lead to convictions or significant federal enforcement actions, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Shirley rose to MAGA fame last year with a viral video alleging that Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota were collecting public money without caring for children, but local news outlets debunked some of those allegations.
In a December fact check, CBS News correspondent Jonah Kaplan said reporters and state inspectors had visited the same sites many times and found “the facts on the ground tell a different story.” Kaplan said safety citations at many of the centers were not evidence of fraud.
The White House has said one of the centers in Shirley’s video was run by Fahima Mahamud, who pleaded guilty over the summer to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and it credited his reporting with sparking arrests and charges in the state. Part of Mahamud’s fraud was tied to Feeding Our Future, the pandemic-era meal program scheme that federal prosecutors began pursuing years before Shirley’s video.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth later admitted that state Republicans coordinated with Shirley and told him which child care centers to visit.
“Fraud needs to end in the state,” Demuth said, “and if this is what it takes, since there’s been inaction by our current governor, then this is where we’re at.”
Trump has seized on Minnesota’s long-running fraud scandal, in which federal prosecutors charged dozens of residents of Somali descent with setting up sham social-services companies. Gov. Tim Walz dropped his bid for a third term earlier this year amid the fallout.
“This administration has zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said.
The program immediately fell under criticism, and skeptics flagged risks of abuse.
“Incentivizing Trump voters to call in their suspicions about about black and brown people? What’s the worst that could happen?” wondered The New Republic’s Ana Marie Cox.
“Ironically, a program seemingly designed to just give money to the regime’s friends and allies is textbook fraud,” pointed out New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie.
“Actual payouts will be minimal,” noted policy professor Don Moynihan, “but this: *gives license to threaten/control others, as the abortion bounties have done *creates incentives to protect the evidence-free claim that fraud is rampant *underlines only certain types of fraud matters - see what happens to your tips about the Trump family.”
“Nick Shirley, who revealed no fraud and provided no tips that lead to fraud convictions, is going to get paid for his propaganda in the most openly fraudulent manner,” jeered New Jersey Democratic candidate Eric J. Morey. “It’s nice of them to record it all publicly. The DOJ can bring charges in 2029.”
“And that’s why I think this will backfire in exceptional fashion,” added legal analyst Marcy Wheeler. “Just as one example, Nick Shirley is ALREADY named in the Renee Good Klan Act lawsuit against Stephen Miller and Jonathan Ross. If it survives to discovery, this becomes fair game. And DOJ’s refusal to investigate tips abt Trump will leave a paper trail, too.”