California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office has slammed Trump’s former TV host goon after claiming credit for investigating medical fraud in L.A. which his office has already tackled.
Former TV presenter Dr. Mehmet Oz was appointed by Trump as the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and works closely with vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
On Monday, Oz posted a video where he claimed Los Angeles has become “one of the epicenters for fraud, waste and abuse” in America.
Oz claimed “foreign gangsters” are defrauding the medical system by enrolling ineligible patients into expensive hospice care and billing for services that have not been rendered.
The 65-year-old cited a figure of $3.5 billion in fraud in hospice and healthcare in Los Angeles County and said “Russian and Armenian gangs, mafia” are working with doctors “who are willing to lie.”
He said, “They’ve corrupted doctors, they’ve normalized fraud, so that everyone sort of expects it,” saying it was a “focus area” for CMS. “President Trump is not going to tolerate taxpayer dollars being stolen because people aren’t paying attention anymore.”
Newsom’s Press Office X account attempted to add some context to Oz’s video, calling it “UNBELIEVABLE.”
“Dr. Oz is taking a victory lap for anti-fraud work that was already underway BEFORE Trump even took office.”
“What’s Trump doing? Making it easier for scammers to steal taxpayer dollars!”
Newsom’s office noted that he signed legislation in October 2021 to curb medical fraud and abuse, particularly in the hospice industry.
The legislation prohibited hospice providers or their agents from paying recruiters for patient referrals in response to the rise of crooked doctors and recruiters targeting prospective patients at retirement homes. Some were unknowingly signing away their rights to lifesaving emergency medical treatment, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for comment.
Newsom was forced to debunk similar claims of fraud made by Oz and President Trump earlier this month.
Trump posted on Truth Social that “California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun.” However he did not clarify which type of fraud he was discussing.
Newsom’s Press Office clapped back, stating “Donald Trump is a deranged, habitual liar whose relationship with reality ended years ago.” They added “Gavin Newsom runs a state. Donald Trump runs his mouth and little fingers.”
Also, in a press conference, Oz said he believed that the “fraudsters” in California were working with about “100 bad doctors,” and that around 100,000 people had handed over their Medicare numbers.
“There is not seven times more deaths in L.A. County than there were five years ago. These are fraudsters, and these do tend to be foreign influences, either Russian and Armenian gangs, mafia, that are leading a lot of these efforts,” he said.
Newsom’s Press Office pushed back on Oz’s claims of widespread fraud at the time, writing that the governor had “blocked over $125 BILLION in fraud, arrested criminal parasites leaching off of taxpayers, and protected taxpayers from the exact kind of scam artist Trump celebrates, excuses, and pardons.”
Aside from cracking down on welfare fraud, Oz has also been pushing RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, with a war on seed oils and processed food.
In November, Oz called out Fox News host Peter Doocy for the array of “non-MAHA” snacks available to MAGA talent in the green room at the TV studio.
He even threatened to “call Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy” on Sunday Briefing host Doocy after discovering the Fox green room offered only processed bags of chips.
“By the way, your green room—this is non-MAHA," he said. “All these snacks. This is all they have back there, this and water.”
