Fox Covers Trump Crackdown on Medicare Fraud in Democrat-Run California

On Sunday, Fox Report host Jon Scott devoted more than six minutes to the story, discussing it with San Francisco-based commentator Richie Greenberg. Scott began by relating: Well, federal authorities have charged 15 people in a major crackdown in a major operation called Never Say Die targeting Medicare fraud at hospices in Southern California. The suspects allegedly bill Medicare about 60 million by recruiting healthy people to pretend they were terminally ill in exchange for monthly kickbacks. After he noted the possibility of more arrests, there came a soundbite of U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli complaining that there was a lack of proper vetting by the state, and recalling the case of a couple with a criminal history who got a license to operate a hospice by using their daughter's name. Greenberg noted that California is completely controlled by Democrats who don't seem to care about stopping such fraud: California, San Francisco, other areas around this state -- we have this happening all the time, but because you have Gavin Newsom, attorney general of California, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and a supermajority of Democrats and progressives in the legislature in Sacramento that just don't seem to care -- they don't seem to want to rein in this kind of fraud -- this is what happens. Scott ended up showing a soundbite of Medicare administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz declaring that it is suspicious that about a third of the nation's hospices are in California, suggesting that many are probably fraudulent. Last week, several Fox shows covered the arrests that occurred in Los Angeles with veteran Fox reporter William La Jeunesse accompanying FBI agents. On the April 3 America Reports, he related: You know, this kind of fraud happens in every state, right, but California is worse -- the state handed out thousands of licenses to unqualified people despite these people often having the same address, the same owner using the same doctor. Those are red flags. Now, the state has provided no oversight, no regulation, and now federal taxpayers are paying the price. He then noted one of those arrested who was alleged to have paid 300 kickbacks to people to pretend to be patients so that she could charge Medicare 6,000 per person. The Fox reporter summed up by recalling some of the red flags that these businesses were operating fraudulently: Prosecutors charged a total of 23 suspects with defrauding taxpayers of about 50 million by running sham health care companies. A major red flag nationally, more than 85 percent of people who enter hospice die there, most in the first three weeks. By contrast, 97 percent of these patients who were enrolled never died. Transcripts follow: Fox News at Night April 2, 2026 11:01 p.m. Eastern ANITA VOGEL: It all went down early this morning here in Los Angeles, taking these alleged hospice fraudsters completely by surprise. Here is our William La Jeunesse who was along for the ride. (...) TRACE GALLAGHER: California has nine percent of the nation's senior citizens -- 31 percent of the nation's hospice and home health care centers. (...) BILL ESSAYLI, FIRST ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY FOR CALIFORNIA: This is not just a fraud problem -- this is a California problem. We want to be very frank about this. The federal government is the purse. All the money comes from the federal government, but it's administered through the states. California is responsible for issuing hospice licenses -- they're responsible for regulating doctors and nurses -- and the problem you see in California is that there is no vetting and there's no checking. (...) America's Newsroom April 3, 2026 9:52 a.m. ESSAYLI: This couple has a criminal record so they couldn't get the license, so they just put it under their daughter's name. But they continued to operate the hospice under their daughter's name, and they billed Medicare for over 4 million, and no one did anything about it until we arrested them. (...) America Reports April 3, 2026 2:54 p.m. WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE: You know, this kind of fraud happens in every state, right, but California is worse -- the state handed out thousands of licenses to unqualified people despite these people often having the same address, the same owner using the same doctor. Those are red flags. Now, the state has provided no oversight, no regulation, and now federal taxpayers are paying the price. FBI SWAT kicked off this operation yesterday morning. Again, arresting the owners of two hospice providers in greater L.A. And this doctor and his wife -- she's a nurse -- they enrolled hundreds of patients who did not qualify for hospice but billed the government as if they did. Now, the Gills pocketed about 30,000 per patient, billing Medicare for about 5 million they used to buy houses, cars and luxury travel. Nearby, there was a second arrest of Lolita Minerd. She's the owner of Topanga hospice. Prosecutors say she paid seniors a 300 kickback for every month they enrolled while she billed the feds for 6,000 for every month that that patient was there. Other patients she simply fabricated using the same address for each one, according to the complaint. ESSAYLI: She billed Medicare for more than 9.1 million over a five-year period for the care of supposedly terminally ill patients. LA JEUNESSE: Prosecutors charged a total of 23 suspects with defrauding taxpayers of about 50 million by running sham health care companies. A major red flag nationally, more than 85 percent of people who enter hospice die there, most in the first three weeks. By contrast, 97 percent of these patients who were enrolled never died. (...) Fox Report April 5, 2026 4:18 p.m. JON SCOTT: Well, federal authorities have charged 15 people in a major crackdown in a major operation called Never Say Die targeting Medicare fraud at hospices in Southern California. The suspects allegedly billed Medicare about 60 million by recruiting healthy people to pretend they were terminally ill in exchange for monthly kickbacks. Officials say more arrests could follow as the investigation continues. ESSAYLI: It was going on for years, and all of these schemes kind of operate very similarly. They get a hospice license from the state of California. You cannot bill Medicare for hospice without being licensed by the state of California. Those licenses are issued with no checking, no vetting. In fact, this couple has a criminal record, so they couldn't get the license. So they just put it under their daughter's name, but they continued to operate the hospice under their daughter's name. And they billed Medicare for over 4 million, and nobody did anything about it until we arrested them last -- yesterday morning. (...) RICHIE GREENBERG, SAN FRANCISCO POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: California, San Francisco, other areas around this state -- we have this happening all the time, but because you have Gavin Newsom, attorney general of California, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and a supermajority of Democrats and progressives in the legislature in Sacramento that just don't seem to care -- they don't seem to want to reign in this kind of fraud -- this is what happens. (...) SCOTT: As U.S. Attorney Essayli said, you cannot -- I mean, the governor is saying it's Medicare's fault -- Essayli is saying the state is the one who is clearing these Medicare operators, licenses them, gives them an opportunity to bill the federal government, so somebody at the state level ought to be on the hook if they are not legitimate. Let's listen to Dr. Mehmet Oz who runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Listen. Dr. MEHMET OZ, MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES ADMINISTRATION: -- 1,800 hospices in California. Is that the right number? Well, nationwide, we have just over 6,000 hospices, so why would almost one-third of all of the hospices in the whole country be in Los Angeles County. Brad Wilmouth Wed, 04/08/2026 - 22:15 Marketing Timing Regular Search Engine Title Fox Covers Trump Crackdown on Medicare Fraud in Dem-Run California CNS Commentary Off