The McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania who reported the UnitedHealthcare shooting suspect to 911 is eligible for a reward, but it may take time to receive payment.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is charged in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4. Up to $60,000 in reward money from the FBI and the New York Police Department’s Crime Stoppers program was offered for tips leading to a break in the case.
On Dec. 9, Mangione was arrested while eating breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The arrest came after a McDonald’s customer spotted a man who matched the shooting suspect’s description and a worker called 911.
After the arrest, some people on social media claimed the McDonald’s worker might not automatically receive the $60,000 reward for identifying Mangione.
THE QUESTION
Will the McDonald’s worker who identified Luigi Mangione automatically get paid the $60,000 reward?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, the McDonald’s worker who identified Luigi Mangione will not automatically get paid the $60,000 reward.
WHAT WE FOUND
The McDonald’s worker who reported the UnitedHealthcare shooting suspect to 911 is eligible for a reward, but it may take time for them to receive payment. NYPD officials have confirmed the worker is eligible for a $10,000 reward from the department if Mangione were to be convicted, but the FBI has yet to confirm eligibility for its portion, the remaining $50,000 of the total reward.
NYPD officials say more than 400 tips were called into the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers tip line during the five-day search for the masked gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4. About 30 of those tips included useful information about the suspected killer’s movements before and after the shooting, according to officials.
The NYPD Crime Stoppers reward is funded by the New York City Police Foundation and the NYPD’s Detective Bureau. The tip line typically offers up to $3,500 for information that leads to an arrest and indictment, but the NYPD increased that amount to $10,000 in this case, and for the increased payout, a conviction is required.
The McDonald’s worker who reported Mangione in Pennsylvania called 911, which records a number and usually a name. A tipster calling the NYPD Crime Stoppers line remains anonymous and the program promises never to trace cellphone numbers or record information about the callers. Instead, it gives callers a unique identifier number that they can use to check back about the status of the case and the potential for a reward.
Tipsters do not have to live in New York nor specifically call NYPD Crime Stoppers to get the reward money, according to a Washington Post report. On Dec. 11, the NYC Police Foundation board said in a statement that “the individual in Pennsylvania, who called in a tip, is eligible to receive the reward.”
Hours after the shooting, the FBI said it was “offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction” of the suspected killer.
It’s unclear if the McDonald’s worker will be eligible to receive the agency’s $50,000 reward at this time. The FBI told VERIFY in a statement that it “maintains longstanding policy not to confirm the identity of individuals who assist the FBI by providing tips or information.”
“The FBI will not comment on whether reward money has been paid and to whom,” the agency said. “The FBI takes this position for privacy protection, and to ensure the public’s continued cooperation and incentivization with any future assistance. Receiving tips from the public remains one of the FBI’s best tools in preventing, detecting, and deterring crime.”
Both the FBI and NYPD Crime Stoppers have boards that review the tips, talk to detectives or other law enforcement involved in the investigation, and determine which tips served a substantial role in the case.
The NYPD Crime Stoppers board has the leeway to split a reward between tips or to consider each for the maximum amount on a case-by-case basis. NYPD officials did not specify how any of the 30 tips helped the case, but it’s unlikely each tipster would receive the highest reward amount offered. It’s unclear if the McDonald’s customer who spotted Mangione would also be eligible for any reward money.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny will assess which tip or tips were instrumental in cracking the case when determining how reward funds should be allocated, officials said.
Mangione is being held without bail in western Pennsylvania in the killing of Thompson. The Associated Press reports that Mangione plans to fight extradition to New York to face murder charges, but officials hope to get him back in the state with what’s known as a governor’s warrant.
The process could happen quickly or take more than a month. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office had not yet asked Pennsylvania for the warrant on Dec. 11 after murder charges were filed against Mangione on Dec. 9 in New York.
Both rewards require a conviction before payout. Given the nature of the murder charges and the multiple jurisdictions involved, it could be a year or more before a trial happens.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.