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On October 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and its National Fraud Enforcement Division (the “Fraud Division”) announced the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (“WHIP”), styled in its published terms as the Criminal Tip Rewards Pilot Program and subject to an initial three-year term. DOJ describes WHIP as the first federal whistleblower rewards program to pay an award when criminal charges are filed rather than after a matter is resolved. WHIP offers $10,000 to $30,000 for information leading to criminal charges involving federal health care offenses or fraud on benefit programs administered by eight federal agencies. Tips are submitted through America.gov, the government’s new public-facing portal, where an AI-assisted interface guides the reporter through a short form and accepts supporting documents.

WHIP follows Directive 26-12, Corporate Enforcement in the Fight Against Fraud (see our alert here), which directs Fraud Division leadership to design programs incentivizing whistleblowers to bring forward credible fraud information. The Department of the Treasury is committing $25 million to implement WHIP. 

For companies that receive federal funds, including those participating in federal health care or benefit programs, WHIP materially changes the speed at which potential misconduct can reach DOJ. A current or former employee, vendor, patient, or competitor can report suspected misconduct directly to DOJ within minutes, attach internal documents, and potentially receive a defined payment if charges follow, without requiring a conviction, forfeiture, or minimum loss amount. This means that companies may have less time than ever to investigate suspected misconduct and decide whether to self-disclose before DOJ learns of it independently. That timing is critical under DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (“CEP”), which requires that the misconduct be previously unknown to DOJ.

Public Messaging May Drive Increased Reporting

Companies should expect the publicity surrounding WHIP to generate reporting beyond what its formal award structure might otherwise produce. Some would-be reporters may arrive with expectations shaped by the President’s statements describing potential rewards far exceeding DOJ’s published $10,000-to-$30,000 range.

Press reports of the White House announcement quote the President as describing the initiative as a commission arrangement: if “you turn somebody in, you get a 1% commission,” with “no limit.” He referenced potential commissions tied to fraud involving $1 billion, $10 billion, and even “400 billion,” and specifically encouraged journalists to participate based on their ability to uncover misconduct before the government.

The program DOJ published is more limited. Its terms provide for discretionary awards of $10,000 to $30,000 after criminal charges are filed, not a percentage of the government’s recovery. Companies should therefore distinguish between the program’s governing terms and the broader public messaging surrounding its launch. But they should not discount the latter: publicity about potentially substantial rewards may itself provide a powerful incentive for employees, former employees, vendors, patients, competitors, and others to report suspected misconduct.

What the Program Provides

  • Awards. DOJ may award $10,000 to $30,000 for each qualifying tip, in its sole discretion, at or around the time criminal charges are obtained and unsealed. No minimum loss is required, and an unsuccessful scheme may qualify if the tip leads to charges. Participants may also remain eligible for awards under other whistleblower programs.
  • Covered conduct. The program covers federal health care offenses and related crimes, as well as fraud involving programs and benefits administered by specified federal agencies. DOJ will prioritize certain health care matters, including hospice, home health care, day care, and special services fraud, and identifies kickbacks, bribes, medically unnecessary or unprovided services, false diagnoses, and misuse of identifying information among the conduct of interest. The federal government need only bear the ultimate loss, and DOJ may expand the categories of covered conduct.
  • Reporting process. Tips are submitted through america.gov/fraud, an AI-supported chat tool that accepts supporting documents and describes the reporting process as taking approximately six minutes. Submission does not guarantee an award. The governing terms and conditions are available on DOJ’s WHIP program page.

Why WHIP Matters for Companies That Receive Federal Funds

WHIP significantly lowers the barriers to reporting compared with a False Claims Act qui tam action, which requires filing a sealed complaint and can involve lengthy litigation before any recovery. A WHIP tipster faces none of those requirements and may receive a fixed award relatively early in the process. The likely result is more reports reaching DOJ, including reports that may be incomplete, mistaken, or based on limited information, but that nonetheless can provide investigative leads for a Fraud Division committed to data-driven, proactive case generation under Directive 26-13, A Comprehensive Approach in the Fight Against Fraud (see our alert here).

Three features warrant particular attention. First, WHIP operates alongside DOJ’s increasingly strong incentives for voluntary self-disclosure. Read together with Directive 26-12 and the joint DOJ and HHS-OIG self-disclosure policy announced last week (see our alert here), the design creates competing incentives to reach DOJ first: companies are offered the possibility of a declination for voluntarily disclosing qualifying misconduct, while potential whistleblowers are offered financial incentives to report it. Second, the terms speak directly to corporate compliance processes. Information obtained by officers, directors, or compliance and audit personnel through those processes cannot support an award until 120 days after it is reported internally, while other employees face no comparable waiting period. And efforts to enforce confidentiality agreements against communications with DOJ, or to retaliate against a tipster, may adversely affect cooperation credit and potentially raise obstruction concerns. Third, the President’s remarks expressly encouraged journalists to participate, creating the possibility that allegations may reach DOJ and the public at roughly the same time.

Key Takeaways

WHIP is the third Fraud Division announcement in three weeks aimed at accelerating the government’s identification of fraud affecting federal programs. For companies receiving federal funds, the practical implications arise at each stage of the reporting and investigative process.

  • Before a report is made. Employees who believe an internal concern has gone unanswered may have greater incentive to take that concern directly to DOJ. Compliance programs should therefore ensure that reports are acknowledged promptly, reporters understand that their concerns are being reviewed, and managers understand their non-retaliation obligations. Companies should also review confidentiality, separation, and non-disparagement provisions to ensure they do not purport to restrict communications with the government.
  • When an internal report is received. WHIP puts a premium on rapid escalation and assessment. Because the CEP conditions a declination on disclosure of misconduct previously unknown to DOJ, a readily accessible, incentivized reporting channel can narrow the period in which a company can investigate and determine whether voluntary self-disclosure is appropriate. Significant allegations should therefore be escalated promptly to counsel and assessed under privilege. For potentially criminal health care conduct, the newly coordinated DOJ and HHS-OIG framework also makes the disclosure analysis particularly important.
  • If DOJ makes contact. A WHIP submission may reach DOJ with internal documents that the company has not yet collected or reviewed, potentially including privileged material. Counsel should be prepared to identify and assert applicable privileges promptly, establish the relevant factual record, and address inaccuracies or gaps in the tipster’s account before they harden into the government’s working theory of the case.
  • Priority sectors and future expansion. Providers in the sectors DOJ has identified as priorities, including hospice, home health care, day care, and special services, should consider testing relevant billing, eligibility, and compliance controls. Because DOJ describes WHIP as a pilot and has reserved the ability to expand its scope, companies should also monitor changes to the program, including whether its formal award structure evolves in response to the broader structure described publicly at its launch.

Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP’s White Collar Defense and Criminal Investigations Team navigates domestic and international clients in all manner of white collar, regulatory, corporate and congressional investigations. Our team includes a distinguished roster of veteran defense attorneys, former federal prosecutors and U.S. Attorneys who served at the highest levels of the Department of Justice and at leading United States Attorneys’ Offices. Our team includes Chambers Ranked (Band 1) lawyers and alumni of the U.S. Department of Justice, the SEC’s Enforcement Division, the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and in-house compliance specialists of publicly traded companies.