FBI Announces Tip Line to Combat Public Corruption
Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Vincent B. Lisi of the FBI’s Boston Division announced today a new initiative designed to solicit the public’s help in identifying and targeting public corruption.
The initiative includes the launch of a new, toll-free tip line number, 1-844-NOBRIBE (1-844-662-7423), and a billboard campaign called “Stop Corruption Now.” The campaign will focus on targeting fraud and corruption at all levels of government.
Public corruption remains a top criminal priority for the FBI. It’s a breach of the public’s trust by government officials—whether elected, appointed or under contract—who use their public office for personal gain. It is a violation of federal law for any federal, state, or local government official to receive anything of value in exchange for or because of any official act. Due to the secretive nature of bribes, such crimes are often difficult to detect and even more difficult to prove without the assistance of concerned citizens. As a result, the FBI has set up a public corruption hotline for reporting tips at 1-844-NOBRIBE. Online tips can be submitted at tips.fbi.gov.
Various types of corruption include bribery, extortion, embezzlement, racketeering, kickbacks, and money laundering, as well as wire, mail, bank, and tax fraud. The public is encouraged to review these corruption questionnaires for contract corruption, economic stimulus, and government fraud (available at the conclusion of this release). If the answer is yes to any of these questions, individuals are asked to contact the FBI.
One area of growing concern over the last few years is the expansion of gaming which may also increase public corruption, financial, and organized crime.
“Concerned citizens are the FBI’s biggest asset when it comes to exposing people who are abusing the public’s trust and misusing taxpayer money to line their own pockets. This tip line is designed to be an easy way for those with knowledge of schemes to report those schemes,” said SAC Lisi.
In connection with this initiative, advertisements for the tip line will also appear on Facebook in the coming weeks.
Questionnaires: