A viral video about alleged misuse of taxpayer money has landed Nick Shirley in the Oval Office, where Donald Trump presented him with a $10,000 check. The payment came as the administration introduced a federal reward program designed to encourage people to report suspected government fraud.
Nick Shirley gets $10K from Donald Trump over his fraud videos
Nick Shirley, a conservative YouTuber, received the check after his 42-minute video about Minnesota day care centers spread online in December 2025. The video alleged that nearly a dozen facilities collected public funding without providing child care services. Its reach prompted visits from state officials and Homeland Security agents (via CBS News).
The administration is also rolling out a $25 million whistleblower initiative called the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, or WHIP, announced by Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The Justice Department will run the program, allowing people to report suspected fraud through the government’s designated reporting website. Under the plan, tipsters whose information leads to criminal charges could receive between $10,000 and $30,000, according to the Justice Department. Trump said he hoped the financial incentive would “keep a lot of people honest.”
Licensing data reviewed by CBS News did not fully support Shirley’s claims. Records dated Dec. 30, 2025, showed that only two of the childcare centers examined lacked active licenses, while state inspectors had checked the facilities that remained open within the previous six months. Inspectors had flagged numerous problems, from sanitation and safety concerns to faulty equipment and gaps in employee training. Yet despite those findings, the records contained no documented proof of fraudulent activity.
Minnesota’s records show that Minneapolis-based Quality Learning Center shut its doors in January after receiving $1.9 million from the state’s Child Care Assistance Program during fiscal 2025. Another case tied to Shirley’s footage resulted in a guilty plea, with a woman shown in one of his videos admitting to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The allegations also sit within a much wider investigation into pandemic-related fraud in Minnesota. Federal prosecutors have pursued the Feeding Our Future case, in which investigators estimated that $250 million in payments had been obtained fraudulently.
