Minnesota may have been the obvious first target for the Trump Administration fraud task force to set up shop — but more schemes are now being exposed elsewhere.

And some of these alleged fraudsters are downright bold!

The DOJ’s task force is now raising the alarm about a number of wild fraudsters who have been gaming the system in the swing-state of Pennsylvania.

The first results from the crackdown in PA started rolling in during the first week of this month.

But the details of some of these Pennsylvania fraud cases are even more brazen and bizarre than most of what I heard coming out of Minnesota!

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Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald heads the National Fraud Enforcement Division at the DOJ.

He kicked off the anti-fraud festivities on August 4th with a rash of charges against Pennsylvania-based alleged fraudsters, as first covered in this Fox News clip:

 

I don’t know about you, but if I’m a Medicaid fraudster living in Pennsylvania…

I’m probably not sticking around after that news conference!

But wait until you read some of the details of these particular cases.

How do you make money while sitting in court?  Bill for Medicaid services rendered, of course!  (It’s not like anyone ever checks… right?)

But this time, under the Trump Administration, someone DID check, as reported by Fox News:

The DOJ’s expanded anti-fraud task force made its first sweeping bust of Medicaid scofflaws in Pennsylvania this month, drawing comparisons to the massive fraud scandals that rocked Minnesota.

The DOJ noted Pennsylvania spends $8 billion on Medicaid home-care services, more than almost any other state, and those services were the target of the busts.

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One suspect billed Medicaid for services that supposedly occurred while police had pulled him over for a moving violation and charged him on suspicion of marijuana possession, according to the DOJ.

Another suspect billed Medicaid for services during a period when he was in court watching a family member get sentenced for Medicaid fraud-related offenses, according to Colin McDonald.

Another suspect billed Medicaid for home-care services that McDonald said were supposedly provided while the suspect was driving for a rideshare company. Another billed for services while in prison, according to McDonald.

The governor — who was considered a runner-up to Walz in then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ search for a running mate — said the commonwealth is a “national leader in stopping fraud.”

“We are coming for you,” said former Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney Scott Brady, whom President Donald Trump tapped to lead the White House’s nationwide anti-fraud task force. (Emphasis added.)

My favorite is the guy who billed Medicaid for services he claimed he performed while he was literally sitting in a courtroom watching a family member deal with being prosecuted for MEDICAID FRAUD!

You literally can’t make this stuff up.

Through his current position heading up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Oz has been part of the Trump Administration’s crackdown on fraud.

Check out this clip shared by The Blaze, in which he describes how big of a problem Medicaid fraud really is in terms of its ranking among ‘jobs’:

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Here’s a full screen version of that video for convenience:

The reality that Dr. Oz pointed out — the fact that 50% more people are employed in the home care arena than retail — ought to be a red flag for the folks rooting out fraud.

Those numbers don’t match the population!

Fortunately, what seemed to be a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to fraud under the Biden regime has changed.

Those trying to stop the theft of US tax dollars by fraud say they mean business in the current administration, and they are backing it up by dragging people into court to be held accountable.

FINALLY!

The DOJ’s Fraud Division made it very clear when they announced charges filed by the DOJ against those initial 19 defendants in Pennsylvania —  they’re coming after the fraudsters, according to this IRS tax fraud press release:

The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division) announced a major investment in combatting Medicaid fraud through a significant expansion of the Division’s Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an enforcement initiative uniting the Division’s Health Care Fraud Section with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Health Care Strike Force model has proven to be one of the most powerful tools in the federal enforcement arsenal, responsible nationally for the prosecution of over 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion.

In connection with the announcement, the Fraud Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Pennsylvania Attorney General today announced criminal charges against 19 defendants, including owners and employees of home care companies, for their alleged participation in various fraud schemes involving over four million dollars in claims to Medicare and Medicaid. The Pennsylvania Attorney General also announced a plea agreement involving the final defendant in a previously-charged 21 defendant case involving over $1.7 million in claims.

“Home care funding exists to assist America’s elderly and most vulnerable — not to fund schemes in which aides claim be providing care while incarcerated or vacationing in Miami and Saudi Arabia,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s charges and the expansion of our Northeast Strike Force into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania send a clear message to fraudsters in the region: the Department of Justice will relentlessly pursue you and use all available tools to protect Medicaid and the programs everyday Americans rely on.” (Emphasis added.)

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It’s easy hearing about all these charges to simply lose sight of the big picture.

Here’s a clip of firebrand Stephen Miller to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Check this out — one of the clearest explanations of what defrauding the system and the American people actually does, and the harm it causes:

Here’s where my thinking is on that.

If you’re an anti-American politician who literally wants to “fundamentally transform” the U.S. into something completely different…

And the first thing you need to do is crash, burn, and destroy what already exists, in order to replace it — how would YOU do it?

I’d start with exactly what Stephen Miller described in that previous clip.

Bring in foreigners, teach them to game the system, and watch it all crumble.

And that’s literally the protocol we’ve been watching unfold.

And the audacity of some of these charges coming out of Pennsylvania is almost too unbelievable to be real — but they are!

Here’s another list of examples of that audacity… as covered in this report by USA Today:

Federal authorities also described recurring patterns of “impossible work hours,” including one case in which a home health aide claimed to provide care for more than 24 hours in a day on more than 1,100 occasions. Prosecutors said the aide billed for more than 64,000 hours “that could not have been worked,” resulting in more than $1.2 million in Medicaid payments.

“The great fraud against the American taxpayer takes many forms,” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said in a statement. “It is outrageous and unacceptable that anyone could steal money by billing nonexistent home care services for caregivers who were, in fact, dead, in prison, or trafficking drugs.”

Prosecutors charged several Philadelphia-area home health aides and Medicaid recipients.

One indictment charges Joseph Pizzo, 47, and Tiziana Taormina, 52, with conspiracy and health care fraud. Prosecutors say Taormina submitted claims for home care services while Pizzo was incarcerated and while he was working in construction, leading to at least $160,000 in Medicaid payouts.

In another case, prosecutors said Sean Murray, 58, billed Medicaid about $400,000 for home care services that were not provided while he was at a gym, traveling, visiting a massage parlor or selling drugs. Authorities accused him of paying kickbacks to clients to facilitate the scheme.

Prosecutors also charged Charles Bowie, 53, saying he billed Medicaid while traveling internationally, including trips to Saudi Arabia, Jamaica and Colombia. Authorities said the scheme involved about $600,000 in Medicaid billings, most of which were fraudulent. (Emphasis added.)

Like I said — you literally can’t make that stuff up!

And the wild part is they got away with it for years under the Biden Administration!

Because NO ONE WAS CHECKING!

Here’s a video recap, including some details about Home Health companies that are facing charges as well in Pennsylvania as part of this crackdown.

Check out this report from Fox News out of Philadelphia, and make sure you catch the ridiculous statements made by one of the alleged fraudsters upon their arrest:

Did you catch that story related by AAG David Metcalf?

That perfectly encapsulates, for me, just how bad this thing has gotten.

And what it’s really going to take to fix it.  (Which, I think we are seeing under President Trump’s leadership.)

According to Metcalf, one of those arrested scoffed at the entire crackdown, because “everyone” is doing it — you’d have to “arrest the whole city” if that’s a problem.

Yes, sir.  I’d say that’s a problem.

Looks like we’re going to need more handcuffs.

What are your thoughts?

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This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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