HOUSTON—Each year in Harris County, millions of dollars in public assistance find their way into the pockets of the undeserving. Consider the case of a schoolteacher arrested for filing fraudulent unemployment claims as she was about to board a cruise ship.

"It shows you the type of person committing this type of fraud is your neighbor, your friend, and I can tell you, these are the kind of people who like to brag," said John Moore of the Texas Workforce Commission.

Loose lips are what the Harris County District Attorney’s Office is counting on. It has launched the first initiative of its kind in the nation: a partnership of federal, state and local agencies fighting public assistance fraud with the Crime Stoppers tipline.

"If the information leads to an arrest or the filing of felony charges, you will be eligible for up to a $5,000 reward," said Katherine Cabaniss, executive director of Crime Stoppers.

"Whether it’s Medicaid fraud, whether it’s housing fraud, whether it’s buying Lone Star cards for 50 cents on the dollar, it’s immense," said Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos. "I can’t overstate the seriousness of the problem."

Last year alone, for example, the Texas Workforce Commission paid out almost $6 billion in unemployment insurance benefits. It’s estimated that $22 million of that was fraudulently obtained, and that’s just one agency. What’s more…

"It goes way beyond that, because it leads to other anti-social behavior, other criminal activity, and it finances criminal enterprises," said Lykos.