Latest / The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson / California Fraudsters Profit in End Of Life Hospice Scam

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California Fraudsters Profit in End Of Life Hospice Scam · The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

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  Speaker 1: I have never had any knowledge of epstein abuse of
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  Speaker 1: his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I
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  Speaker 1: was not a participant, was never on Epstein's plane, and
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  Speaker 2: You're listening to the forty seven Morning Update with Ben ferguson.
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  Speaker 3: Good Friday morning.
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  Speaker 4: Nice to have you with us on the forty seven
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  Speaker 4: Morning Update, and we've got one big story for you.
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  Speaker 3: This involves a massive fraud.
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  Speaker 4: California forced to dismantle more than two hundred and sixty
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  Speaker 4: seven million in hospice fraud ring and Operation Skip Chase.
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  Speaker 4: The shocking part is Democrats are claiming now in California
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  Speaker 4: they've been fighting fraud all along, and we expose exactly.
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  Speaker 3: How they're lying to you about it.
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  Speaker 4: Now, before we get to that, I want to tell
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  Speaker 4: seven to two Patriot and switch today. It's the forty
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  Speaker 4: seven Morning Update and it starts right now.
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  Speaker 2: Story number one.
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  Speaker 4: The easiest way I can describe this next story is well,
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  Speaker 4: at least it's a big start for the president of
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  Speaker 4: United States of America. He promised that he was going
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  Speaker 4: to go after waste, fraud and abuse, and he was
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  Speaker 4: going to make sure the government was doing everything they
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  Speaker 4: could to make sure your tax dollars weren't being stolen. Well,
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  Speaker 4: now we're gonna move to California, where officials there have
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  Speaker 4: just announced a major crackdown on healthcare fraud. They have
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  Speaker 4: dismantled what has been described as a massive two hundred
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  Speaker 4: and sixty seven million dollar hospice scam they're now calling
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  Speaker 4: the operation Skip Trace. Authorities have also charged twenty one
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  Speaker 4: individuals in connection with this scheme. Several arrests have already
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  Speaker 4: been made, and many more are actually expected now. According
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  Speaker 4: to investigators, this was not a small time operation. It
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  Speaker 4: was a highly organized fraud ring that exploited California's medical system.
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  Speaker 4: That's the state's medicaid program. How do they do it?
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  Speaker 4: It's pretty simple. They were billing for hospice services that
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  Speaker 4: were never actually provided to anyone. In fact, officials say
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  Speaker 4: not a single legitimate hospice service was ever delivered to anyone,
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  Speaker 4: despite millions of dollars in claims and your tax dollars
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  Speaker 4: being stolen. The scheme worked with purchasing stolen personal information,
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  Speaker 4: in some cases from the dark web. Then they would
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  Speaker 4: use those identities to enroll fake patients into medical From there,
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  Speaker 4: the suspects used in network, as they described it at
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  Speaker 4: the press conference, of at least fourteen different hospice companies,
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  Speaker 4: often controlled by so called straw owners. They would then
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  Speaker 4: submit fraudulent claims and collect your tax dollars. Fox eleven,
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  Speaker 4: Los Angeles, describing it this.
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  Speaker 5: Way, sometimes the people who need care the most end
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  Speaker 5: up in a system that needs watching too. State officials
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  Speaker 5: are now promising to continue their crackdown on hospice fraud.
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  Speaker 5: Investigation could raise bigger questions about trust, money and who
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  Speaker 5: profits at the end of life. The crackdowns now zeroing
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  Speaker 5: in a scheme has drained millions from medical. Fox eleven's
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  Speaker 5: Nick Garsias in downtown LA, where state leaders has stolen
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  Speaker 5: identities helped fuel this case.
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  Speaker 6: Work was seeing well. Attorney General rab Bonta was here
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  Speaker 6: today to announce Operation Skip Trace, which happened yesterday and
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  Speaker 6: targeted twenty one suspects across ten different locations right here
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  Speaker 6: in southern California. Those suspects accused of defrauding the state
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  Speaker 6: of two hundred and sixty seven million dollars. A massive
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  Speaker 6: takedown of a complex fraud ring which investigators say took
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  Speaker 6: advantage of state money intended for hospice care.
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  Speaker 7: This was a brazen, calculated criminal scheme that exploited the
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  Speaker 7: medical system, stole from the State of California and Medicaid,
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  Speaker 7: and prevented services and care from going to sick individuals
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  Speaker 7: who actually need it.
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  Speaker 6: The suspects defrauded the state two hundred and sixty seven
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  Speaker 6: million dollars by using stolen identities to.
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  Speaker 3: Enroll in hospice.
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  Speaker 6: Five have been arrested so far. State officials say they're
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  Speaker 6: increasing protections. We are using a faster and more secure
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  Speaker 6: online process, and we're adding stronger checks to prevent fake
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  Speaker 6: applications or stolen identities from getting into the system. This
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  Speaker 6: operation comes as the federal government has started to crack
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  Speaker 6: down on hospice fraud. US Attorney Bill A. Saley on
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  Speaker 6: Good Day LA Thursday Morning.
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  Speaker 8: Fraud hasn't always been a priority of the Department of Justice,
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  Speaker 8: particularly fraud against taxpayers. That is changing, because when you
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  Speaker 8: defraud these programs, not only are fraudsters getting away with
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  Speaker 8: our money, it's taking money away from people really need it.
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  Speaker 6: But Attorney General Bonta says fraud has long been a
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  Speaker 6: priority for California's Department of Justice.
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  Speaker 7: Well, healthcare fraud might be President Trump's shiny new political
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  Speaker 7: talking point. California DOJ has been going after health care
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  Speaker 7: fraud since nineteen seventy nine.
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  Speaker 4: By the way, I love how Democrats in California, as
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  Speaker 4: you just heard there saying, well, we've been on top
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  Speaker 4: of this. How was this uncovered? It wasn't because of
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  Speaker 4: their work. It was because of undercover individuals, literally citizen
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  Speaker 4: journalists who started looking and exposing all of the fraud.
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  Speaker 4: And now California is wanting you to believe that they've
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  Speaker 4: been on top of the issue all along.
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  Speaker 3: It's just not the case.
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  Speaker 4: Now law enforcement did execute search warrants across multiple locations
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  Speaker 4: in southern California. We now know they sees cash, they
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  Speaker 4: sees firearms, and evidence tied to the operation. Prosecutors have
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  Speaker 4: hit the defendance with a range of serious charges, including
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  Speaker 4: healthcare fraud and any theft, conspiracy, and money laundering. Crimes
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  Speaker 4: that could carry significant prison time if they're convicted. By
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  Speaker 4: the way, to be clear, there's no indication that California
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  Speaker 4: is actually getting serious about really cracking down on this.
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  Speaker 4: They were shamed into doing their job. Now, the state officials,
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  Speaker 4: one that you just heard there says this case highlights
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  Speaker 4: a growing national problem. So they want you to believe
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  Speaker 4: that what you're witnessing in California is while happening where
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  Speaker 4: you live, and even if you're at a conservative state
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  Speaker 4: that cracks down on this stuff, they're telling you, no, no,
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  Speaker 4: there must be fraud there.
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  Speaker 3: We're not the only ones that have an issue.
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  Speaker 4: They also said they're sending a clear message those who
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  Speaker 4: exploit programs meant for the sick and vulnerable and still
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  Speaker 4: from taxpayers will be aggressively pursued and held accountable. Now,
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  Speaker 4: there's also no indication that California is actually ready to
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  Speaker 4: do that. So the California Attorney General Rob Banta and
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  Speaker 4: the Department of Health Services there, they're now saying that
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  Speaker 4: you should be thanking them for taking down the staggering
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  Speaker 4: two hundred and sixty seven million dollar health care fraud ring.
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  Speaker 4: The only reason why this happened is because you had
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  Speaker 4: conservatives online that publicly shamed them into doing their job.
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  Speaker 4: The operation, which involved twenty one suspects so far, fourteen
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  Speaker 4: fraudulent companies targeting the state's medical system by billing for
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  Speaker 4: hospice services that were never rendered to anyone. That is
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  Speaker 4: the story that everyone should be angry about. Yeah, they've
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  Speaker 4: been charged, but it wasn't like California was actually leading
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  Speaker 4: the way. What's also interesting about these twenty one suspects
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  Speaker 4: have been charged is the investigation has now hit into
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  Speaker 4: one hundred and thirty associated shell companies as well. Now
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  Speaker 4: it's unclear exactly how much to the two hundred and
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  Speaker 4: sixty seven million is defrauded funds and how much of
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  Speaker 4: it can actually be recovered. Manta noted that only about
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  Speaker 4: thirty million has been retrieved so far, So we're missing
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  Speaker 4: two hundred and thirty seven million. So when he says
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  Speaker 4: we're on top of it, ask yourself, if that's true,
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  Speaker 4: then where's the other two hundred and thirty plus million
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  Speaker 4: dollars that you promised?
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  Speaker 3: Now?
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  Speaker 4: LA Good Day that is one of the leading morning
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  Speaker 4: shows in LA. They went on the air and they
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  Speaker 4: explained it to their audience a little bit differently.
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  Speaker 3: Listen carefully.
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  Speaker 9: These are cracking down on what they call a massive
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  Speaker 9: healthcare fraud scheme. Right here in California.
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  Speaker 10: Eight people are now under arrest, accused of running sham
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  Speaker 10: hospice operations that allegedly stole more than fifty million dollars
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  Speaker 10: from Medicare. The takedown, dubbed Operation Never Say Die, could
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  Speaker 10: signal a broader push to target fraud across the region.
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  Speaker 11: Joining us now is US Attorney.
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  Speaker 10: Bill a Sale to break down the case, what it
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  Speaker 10: means for taxpayers also the integrity of our healthcare system.
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  Speaker 11: Thank you so much for being here this morning, Thanks
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  Speaker 11: for having me. This is a big operation.
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  Speaker 12: It is big.
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  Speaker 8: It was one of the first operations under the Vice
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  Speaker 8: President's new Task Force on Fraud.
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  Speaker 12: We did in coordination with the Vice President.
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  Speaker 8: And of course doctor Oz who oversees Medicare program. And
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  Speaker 8: we're out there early and we took down We announced
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  Speaker 8: fifteen separate cases, We arrested eight people, and again almost
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  Speaker 8: sixty million dollars in fraud just in one day.
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  Speaker 9: So explain how this hospice fraud worked. I mean, these
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  Speaker 9: little communities are sort of working together to try to
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  Speaker 9: try to scam the system.
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  Speaker 8: Yeah, A lot of these are repeat fraud and what
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  Speaker 8: happens is they take advantage of vulnerabilities in our systems.
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  Speaker 8: So it starts with getting a hospice license through the
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  Speaker 8: state of California, and to be honest, California did not
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  Speaker 8: have good systems in place. They still don't for vetting
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  Speaker 8: and checking to make sure these are legitimate operators. Once
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  Speaker 8: they have that hospice license, they then have the ability
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  Speaker 8: to build medicare.
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  Speaker 12: And that's what they were doing. They were submitting fraudulent names.
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  Speaker 8: Or in some cases they are real people's names, but
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  Speaker 8: they weren't really in hospice.
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  Speaker 12: They were not dying.
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  Speaker 8: That's why the operator they die and billing millions and
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  Speaker 8: millions of dollars over.
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  Speaker 12: A few years.
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  Speaker 11: And were these people getting kickbacks then.
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  Speaker 12: Some were, some weren't.
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  Speaker 8: Yes, And again on average they got about five or
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  Speaker 8: six thousand dollars per name per month, and then they
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  Speaker 8: would kick back maybe three hundred dollars to the patients themselves.
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  Speaker 8: But the fraudsters, of course, are always going to want
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  Speaker 8: to keep most of the money.
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  Speaker 11: How long had this been going on?
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  Speaker 12: This has been going on for years.
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  Speaker 8: We've really seen explosion uptake after COVID, there was a
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  Speaker 8: lot more money put into systems, put into PPP, and
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  Speaker 8: that's what I think fraudsters realize the amount of money
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  Speaker 8: that's available in these government accounts. But you know, the
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  Speaker 8: message you want to get across is fraud hasn't always
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  Speaker 8: been a priority of the Department of Justice, particularly fraud
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  Speaker 8: against taxpayers. That is changing because when you defraud these programs,
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  Speaker 8: not only are fraudsters getting away with our money, it's
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  Speaker 8: taking money away from people really need it. It's draining
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  Speaker 8: the healthcare system of important money that's needed for people
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  Speaker 8: who actually need it. And that's really the big message here.
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  Speaker 9: We do have the response from Governor Newsom and also
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  Speaker 9: ag Rob Bonta responded to this. You guys been going
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  Speaker 9: kind of back and forth online, and part of it
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  Speaker 9: is what they're saying is that it's the federal government
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  Speaker 9: that oversees medicare, it's not us. They also are saying, look,
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  Speaker 9: we've been part of this partnership to crack down on
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  Speaker 9: this fraud in medicare. We've made huge strides in all
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  Speaker 9: of this.
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  Speaker 12: What do you have to say, Yeah, a couple of
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  Speaker 12: things going on here.
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  Speaker 8: At number one, the federal government's basically the piggybank. It's
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  Speaker 8: the federal government provides most of the money that goes
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  Speaker 8: to these programs. However, they're administered by the states. It's
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  Speaker 8: the state of California that's responsible for hospice. California license
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  Speaker 8: every single hospice. They're supposed to be vetting and checking.
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  Speaker 8: And our criticism of the State of California is that
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  Speaker 8: they don't have sufficient measures in place to prevent and
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  Speaker 8: detect fraud. In the first instance, the money's going out
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  Speaker 8: the door, and then they're coming to us and saying,
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  Speaker 8: all this fraud occurred, help us get the bad guys.
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  Speaker 12: We don't want to pay and chase. We want to
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  Speaker 12: stop the fraud from happening.
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  Speaker 9: And the first one that's kind of interesting is that
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  Speaker 9: no one denies that this is taking place. So even
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  Speaker 9: though they're saying we're fighting at also everybody admits that
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  Speaker 9: this is a big deal.
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  Speaker 8: It's a massive deal. I think the state does dispute
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  Speaker 8: the extent how much it is. We think it's potentially
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  Speaker 8: in the hundreds of billions of dollars. But again, the
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  Speaker 8: focus has always been to push money out the door.
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  Speaker 8: I wasn't Sacramento. I was a legislator up there. They
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  Speaker 8: want to get as much money out the door as possible.
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  Speaker 8: That's how they measure success. We want to change that mindset.
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  Speaker 8: We want to focus on making sure that the fraudsters
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  Speaker 8: never get the money in the first place, so we're
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  Speaker 8: not having to chase them down, arrest them and try
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  Speaker 8: to recover money after the fact.
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  Speaker 11: Oh yeah, what happens to all that money now?
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  Speaker 12: Well, a lot of it gets spent. Honestly, a lot
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  Speaker 12: of it fraud.
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  Speaker 11: They are very luxury cars and homes.
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  Speaker 8: Hotels, of vacations, bags. So we try to recover as
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  Speaker 8: much of it as we can. We will seize properties,
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  Speaker 8: we will seize cars, we will seize bank accounts, but frankly,
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  Speaker 8: a lot of it gets spent, and a lot of
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  Speaker 8: these fraudsters are also tied to international organizations and the
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  Speaker 8: money goes out the countries.
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  Speaker 4: Let's just pause there, and I want you to just
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  Speaker 4: think about what you just heard there on the local
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  Speaker 4: Fox affiliate. And they're doing a better job on Good
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  Speaker 4: Day LA talking about this. Then the national media is
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  Speaker 4: they're also telling you the truth that the money is
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  Speaker 4: going overseas, and they're also telling you the truth that
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  Speaker 4: democrats can say how they want to this is somehow
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  Speaker 4: a federal problem instead of a local problem and the
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  Speaker 4: way that they described it. But they're also saying, like,
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  Speaker 4: let's be clear, they're the ones that are over all
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  Speaker 4: of this, and that clearly is part of the hypocrisy here.
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  Speaker 4: Democrats did not care that this fraud was taking place.
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  Speaker 4: They knew about it. There were people, multiple people that
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  Speaker 4: had alerted them of what they saw was clearly fraud,
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  Speaker 4: and they looked the other way. Why because they don't
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  Speaker 4: care if people are stealing from you, the taxpayer. They
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: don't care what's happening here as long as they're getting
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  Speaker 4: a little bit of a kickback. We saw the kickbacks
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  Speaker 4: by the way Minnesota, where many of these fraud sers
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  Speaker 4: were giving political donations to you guessed it, the Democrats
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  Speaker 4: that were in charge at the local, state and the
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  Speaker 4: national level. Now, this much fraud, there were massive signs.
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  Speaker 4: Everyone knew there were signs, and they didn't care. The
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: question we should be asking now is why and what
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  Speaker 4: did they know, when did they know it? And how
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  Speaker 4: much are they hiding from all of us?
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: Thank you for listen listening to the forty seven Morning
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: Update with Ben Ferguson Please make sure you hit subscribe
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  Speaker 2: and we will see you back here tomorrow