Department of Treasury wants to pay for information on fraud

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on March 30 issued a proposed rule paving the way to pay whistleblowers for actionable tips on fraud schemes targeting government health care benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

“As promised, Treasury will reward whistleblowers who provide timely, actionable information on fraud, sanctions violations, and other significant illicit finance activity,” said Secretary Scott Bessent. “President Trump has been clear that Americans have a right to know that their tax dollars are not being diverted to fund acts of global terror or to fund luxury cars for fraudsters. At Treasury, we follow the money, and we strongly encourage individuals to come forward with credible tips to help safeguard our financial system.”

The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) outlines:

• procedures for whistleblowers to share information about potential violations in a timely and secure manner, including for submitting an award application;
• eligibility criteria for making awards and the process for adjudicating award applications;
• awards of 10% to 30% of collected monetary penalties for individuals whose tip leads to a successful enforcement action by Treasury or the Department of Justice; and
• protections for whistleblowers who provide information to FinCEN’s whistleblower program.

The Treasury says that, although FinCEN’s whistleblower program is codified by the Anti-Money Laundering Act (2020) and the Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Improvement Act (2022) and is currently accepting tips, the regulation proposed today, when finalized, will fully implement these statutes. It encourages whistleblowers to submit information as soon as possible and to provide detailed, specific documentation to support their claims.

FinCEN also recently launched a portal for whistleblowers.

Members of the public should submit comments in response to the NPRM within 60 days of the NPRM’s publication in the Federal Register. Comments responding to this notice will be publicly viewable at http://www.regulations.gov.

Additionally, FinCEN has issued an advisory urging financial institutions to be vigilant about fraud schemes targeting government health care benefit programs. The advisory:

• Provides financial institutions with an overview of how fraudsters, organized crime groups, and increasingly, transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), are targeting government health care benefit programs; and
• Highlights money laundering typologies and red flag indicators to help financial institutions identify and report suspicious activity.