The Justice Department Will Now Pay You Up to $30,000 to Snitch on Fraud. What Could Go Wrong?

The Justice Department is paying for tips now. Up front.

On Oct. 20, the department announced the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, or WHIP, which pays $10,000 to $30,000 for information leading to criminal charges in certain fraud areas, including health care fraud and fraud on programs run by agencies like Agriculture, Labor, HUD and the VA. The Treasury is putting $25 million behind it, according to the department.

It came fast. A directive went out Oct. 1. The department's own release says, "Only nineteen days later," WHIP was announced. Attorney General Todd Blanche said it "offers everyone the opportunity to be part of the solution, help expose fraud, and be rewarded quickly."

Here's my squint. Most government reward programs pay after a case is resolved. This one pays after charges, the department says. Charges are an accusation, not a conviction. Awards are in the department's "sole discretion," per the release.

What we still don't know: how tips get screened, what happens to the money if a charged case falls apart, and how many people sign up at america.gov/fraud in month one.