Scott Bessent targets fraudsters with new tipster rewards after trip to Minnesota

The Treasury Department unveiled a proposal that rewards whistleblowers for reporting suspected fraudulent schemes, as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illicit financial activity. 

The agency’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network submitted a rule that would reward tipsters with up to 30% of the fines imposed on criminals, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Whistleblowers whose tips lead to a successful enforcement action by the Treasury or the Department of Justice would receive between 10% and 30% of fines collected from criminals. 

“President [Donald] Trump has been clear that Americans have a right to know that their tax dollars are not being used to commit fraud,” Bessent said Monday. “Under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury will continue to find and disrupt fraud schemes wherever they exist, and we will work with our law enforcement partners to hold perpetrators to account.”

The development comes after sweeping fraud schemes targeting federal and state welfare