Speaker 1: Sencom chief has come out and said that Iran has
Speaker 1: suffered a generational military defeat. Forty year military build up
Speaker 1: crushed in under forty days. If you do the math
Speaker 1: on that, that means for every year it took them
Speaker 1: to build their military, we were able to dismantle it
Speaker 1: in a twenty four hour period. The US Central Command
Speaker 1: Commander Adam Brad Cooper said Thursday, the United States not
Speaker 1: only has achieved its core military objectives under Operation Epic Fury,
Speaker 1: but declaring Iran has suffered a generational military defeat. That
Speaker 1: is obviously a big point of contention for the left
Speaker 1: because they want you to believe that what has happened
Speaker 1: so far has been a total failure. Now, as he
Speaker 1: was providing an update on the fragile ceasefire that has
Speaker 1: taken hold right now, Cooper said that US forces not
Speaker 1: only dismantled Iranian regime's ability to project power beyond its borders,
Speaker 1: but also saying this, we set out to dismantle that capability,
Speaker 1: and we clearly accomplished that major task. He said, Iran's
Speaker 1: conventional military had been built up over forty years is
Speaker 1: in essence gone. I want you to take a listen
Speaker 1: to the update from the SimCom commander on Operation Epic
Speaker 1: Fury in his own words.
Speaker 2: I'm madwar Brad Cooper, Commander of US Central Command. Less
Speaker 2: than six weeks ago, more than fifty thousand of America's
Speaker 2: sons and daughters in uniform launched Operation Epic Fury and
Speaker 2: embarked on a mission of profound consequence. We set out
Speaker 2: to dismantle the Iranian regime's ability to project power beyond
Speaker 2: its own borders, and we clearly accomplished this task. Iran
Speaker 2: has suffered a generational military defeat. The United States and
Speaker 2: Israel systematically destroyed Iran's ability to conduct large scale military
Speaker 2: operations for years to come. Iran's conventional military capability, built
Speaker 2: over forty years at the cost the billions of dollars,
Speaker 2: has been eliminated. As the President expressed earlier this week,
Speaker 2: our core strategic military objectives have been achieved. After destroying
Speaker 2: Iran's missile, drone, and naval capabilities and their defensive industrial base.
Speaker 2: After successfully conducting more than thirteen thousand strikes on Iranian
Speaker 2: military targets and flying thousands upon thousands of combat flights,
Speaker 2: US forces have paused offensive operations in accordance with the
Speaker 2: ongoing ceasefire. However, we remain present, we remain vigilant, and
Speaker 2: we remain ready if called. We also continue to stand
Speaker 2: shoulder to shoulder with our regional partners in maintaining the
Speaker 2: most sophisticated and largest active air defense umbrella in the world.
Speaker 2: At the beginning of this campaign, I sent a letter
Speaker 2: to the force expressing my expectations, and our extraordinary warfighters
Speaker 2: exceeded each in every one of them. So to all
Speaker 2: our soldiers, sailors, marines, air women, guardians and coastguardsmen operating forward,
Speaker 2: you represent the strongest, most lethal military the world has
Speaker 2: ever known. In less than forty days, you destroyed the
Speaker 2: military that are on built for over forty years. Your courage, grit,
Speaker 2: and ingenuity have served America extremely well. Finally, I want
Speaker 2: to close by remembering and honoring our thirteen fallen warriors
Speaker 2: who made the ultimate sacrifice during Operation Epic Fury. We
Speaker 2: continue to hold their memories and their families, their friends
Speaker 2: and their teammates, and our prayers. Their selfless service and
Speaker 2: dedication will always be remembered as future generations follow their
Speaker 2: example and carry forward their legacy. Our men and women
Speaker 2: in uniform represent the best of America. I just could
Speaker 2: not be prouder and more humble to serve with them,
Speaker 2: and I know the American people share that same pride.
Speaker 2: So to our warriors stay sharp, remain resolved, and continue
Speaker 2: to take care of one another.
Speaker 1: He characterize what we've done so far as a comprey
Speaker 1: hints of dismantling of Iran's war machine. The same coom commander,
Speaker 1: emphasizing the scale of the operation, know that US forces,
Speaker 1: and this is truly incredible, more than thirteen thousand strikes
Speaker 1: on Iranian military targets alone, while also flying thousands upon
Speaker 1: thousands of combat missions over the course of the campaign
Speaker 1: in less than forty days, you destroyed the military that
Speaker 1: ran built over forty years. That still is amazing to
Speaker 1: me that he can say that. He also said that
Speaker 1: more than fifty thousand American service members literally took part
Speaker 1: in the operation. He said, it's a profound consequence for
Speaker 1: all of those involved, adding that those forces exceeded each
Speaker 1: and every expectation set at the outset of the campaign. Now,
Speaker 1: while offensive operations have paused in accordance with a ceasefire,
Speaker 1: you also heard him stress that US forces remained fully
Speaker 1: engaged and postured across the re saying quote, we remain present,
Speaker 1: we remain vigilant, and we remain ready if called, adding
Speaker 1: the US Forces continued to send shoulder to shoulder with
Speaker 1: regional partners who maintained the most sophisticated and largest active
Speaker 1: air defense umbrella in the world. Now. This update also
Speaker 1: came as President Trump wrote later Wednesday night on True
Speaker 1: Social the US forces will remain positioned in and around
Speaker 1: Iran until what he described as a real agreement is
Speaker 1: fully implemented, saying this all US ships, aircraft, and military
Speaker 1: personnel will remain in place. Trump wrote, warning that if
Speaker 1: the agreement is not upheld, the shooting starts bigger and
Speaker 1: better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. Trump
Speaker 1: added that the objective remains the same, to ensure in
Speaker 1: all caps no nuclear weapons and that the Straight of
Speaker 1: Ormuz and all caps again will be open and safe,
Speaker 1: while signaling continued military readiness, riding that US forces are
Speaker 1: loaded up and resting as they look ahead to their
Speaker 1: next quote unquote conquest.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 1: Cooper also concluded by honoring there and this is something
Speaker 1: that the media has not done. The brave thirteen US
Speaker 1: service members that have been killed during Operation Epic Fury.
Speaker 1: As he said there, their sacrifice will always be remembered
Speaker 1: and praised their selfless service and dedication as a lasting
Speaker 1: legacy for future generation, saying, our men and women in
Speaker 1: uniform represent the best of America. Amen, by the way
Speaker 1: for him, saying that, He also said I could not
Speaker 1: be prouder and more humble to serve with them. I
Speaker 1: couldn't agree more.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 1: These remarks are important because they come as the US brokeercies.
Speaker 1: Fire remains in place, but clearly it is teetering. Militari
Speaker 1: leaders have emphasized that while active combat operations a pause,
Speaker 1: the US forces remain prepared to resume action if conditions
Speaker 1: on the ground change or shift in any capacity. This
Speaker 1: also goes back to Iran, and what Iran is doing
Speaker 1: right now is they're trying to figure out what they
Speaker 1: can get away with. In fact, Trump even had to
Speaker 1: say today that the strait of hermus Iran better be careful.
Speaker 1: He warned Iran again the charging fees on tankers that
Speaker 1: are trafficking through the strait of Her moves, well, that's
Speaker 1: not going to be allowed, saying, quote their reports, Irana
Speaker 1: is charging fees to tankers going through the strait of
Speaker 1: her moves, they better not me and if they are,
Speaker 1: they better stop now now. That statement also follows reports
Speaker 1: that Iran authorities, desperate for cash right now are enforced
Speaker 1: link to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, have demanded up to
Speaker 1: two million dollars from large tankers for safe passage through
Speaker 1: the narrow twenty two mile waterway connecting the Persian Gulf
Speaker 1: to the Indian Ocean. Some payments have reporter have been
Speaker 1: discussed or accepted in Chinese yen or cryptocurrencies, including dollar
Speaker 1: pegged stable coins as well. On Wednesday, ABC News correspondent
Speaker 1: Jonathan Carl reported asking Trump about the alleged tolls. Here
Speaker 1: is what the present had to say.
Speaker 5: All the charge a toll for the straight upons they're
Speaker 5: charging some desols to go through.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, should they be able to, you know? I
Speaker 1: mean they shouldn't be able to, but they're doing it
Speaker 1: a little bit.
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 4: Look, look, their capability is a lot less than it
Speaker 4: was two weeks ago.
Speaker 6: And with every week and every day, frankly guests lessls.
Speaker 4: All I can tell you is they're begging to make
Speaker 4: a deal.
Speaker 1: So let's see what happened the present. They're reiterating that
Speaker 1: everything's on the table. The President is watching closely. Jonathan
Speaker 1: Carl said that the President responded by describing a possible
Speaker 1: US RAN joint venture to help secure the Strait as
Speaker 1: a quote unquote beautiful thing. So now we wait and
Speaker 1: we watch, and when things break, I promise you, I
Speaker 1: will bring it all to you. There is a story
Speaker 1: that is really not getting attention and it should be,
Speaker 1: and that is the continued horrific crimes being committed right
Speaker 1: now by people that are in the United States of
Speaker 1: America illegally committing these horrific crimes that the media acts like, nah,
Speaker 1: they really don't matter. Let me give you an example.
Speaker 1: Bill Malusian at Fox News put this out there. New
Speaker 1: Border patrol caught and arrested not one, not two, not three,
Speaker 1: but four British nationals entering the US illegally in a
Speaker 1: remote part of Maine after crossing from Canada. Their names
Speaker 1: all from the Middle East. Ali, Muhammad Ali, Abdullah, Hamid,
Speaker 1: Mohammad Niji, Mohammad Sultan, Sali, and Mohammad Khan. Now that's
Speaker 1: not all. And notice I mentioned that that's coming across
Speaker 1: the what northern border, there was also this breaking. The
Speaker 1: Department of Owned Security confirms to Fox News that the
Speaker 1: suspect charged with murdering an innocent gas station clerk in
Speaker 1: Fort Myers, Florida, caught on tape by bludgeoning her to
Speaker 1: death with a hammer, is a Haitian illegal alien who
Speaker 1: was caught and released at the border by the Biden
Speaker 1: administration in twenty twenty two. To make matters worse, an
Speaker 1: immigration judge had actually ordered that individual be deported from
Speaker 1: the US later that same year, in twenty twenty two,
Speaker 1: but the Department of Owned Security says that the Biden
Speaker 1: administration deliberately shielded him from deportation by granting him temporary
Speaker 1: protected status, which expired two years later twenty twenty four. Now,
Speaker 1: this Daylight hammer attack suspect is an illegal alien. He
Speaker 1: was released under the Biden policies and then protected by
Speaker 1: the Biden administration. Senator Cruz and I talked about this
Speaker 1: on our podcast, We Do Verdict with Ted Cruz, and
Speaker 1: I want you to hear part of what he had
Speaker 1: to say. Senator, we want to talk about another issue
Speaker 1: that it needs to be back on the radar screen
Speaker 1: for a lot of Americans. And that is the continual
Speaker 1: crimes are being committed by illegal immigrants that are in
Speaker 1: this country. The media continues to overlook this. They don't
Speaker 1: want you to know that it's happening. But it's another
Speaker 1: example of why the President needs to be fighting so
Speaker 1: hard against these sanctuary cities that are harboring many of
Speaker 1: these criminals that are as he would describe them, really
Speaker 1: baud ombrace Well.
Speaker 4: You may recall back in twenty twenty four at the
Speaker 4: Republican National Convention, when I spoke and addressed the convention,
Speaker 4: my remarks were focused on this topic and the theme
Speaker 4: of it was every damn day, every day, another American
Speaker 4: has raped, another American is assaulted, another American is murdered
Speaker 4: by a violent criminal, illegal alien that Joe Biden and
Speaker 4: the Democrats have released. And I walk through the tragic
Speaker 4: cases of Joscelyn Nungary, the beautiful twelve year old girl
Speaker 4: raped and murdered here in Houston. I walked through Lake
Speaker 4: and Riley, the horrific murder of the young nursing student
Speaker 4: in Georgia. I walked through Rachel Morin, the mom of
Speaker 4: five raped and murdered outside of Washington, d C. It
Speaker 4: was happening over and over and over again. That was
Speaker 4: one of the big reasons that the voters came out
Speaker 4: in overwhelming numbers re elected President Trump, elected a Republican House,
Speaker 4: elected a Republican Senate, and we've seen immediate results. We've
Speaker 4: seen illegal border crossings drop more than ninety nine percent.
Speaker 4: The problem is we have four years of open borders
Speaker 4: that we have to unwind twelve million illegal aliens that
Speaker 4: were allowed to flood into this country. And so just
Speaker 4: this week, the story broke that a gas station clerk,
Speaker 4: a mom in Fort Myers, Florida, was bludgeoned to death
Speaker 4: with a hammer. I mean, what a horrible way to go,
Speaker 4: beaten to death with a hammer. And who is it
Speaker 4: that committed this crime? A Haitian illegal alien who was
Speaker 4: caught and then released at the border by the Biden administration.
Speaker 4: In twenty twenty two, an immigration judge ordered him deported.
Speaker 4: Rolbert Josheim is his name, but the Biden administration shielded
Speaker 4: him from deportation by granting him temporary protected status. So,
Speaker 4: in other words, what this person did he took a
Speaker 4: hammer the parking lot of a gas station. He walks
Speaker 4: at her with full strengths he beats her on the
Speaker 4: head with a hammer, she falls down unconscious, and then
Speaker 4: he brushes her head with the hammer while she's unconscious
Speaker 4: six more times. Here's the statement of the Department Homeland
Speaker 4: Security put out quote. This illegal alien barbarically hit this
Speaker 4: woman in the head multiple times with a hammer. This
Speaker 4: heinous murderer was released into the country by the Bidad administration.
Speaker 4: Not only did the Bida administration release him into the country,
Speaker 4: but they gave him temporary protected status. Their reckless immigration
Speaker 4: policies cost this woman her life. This keeps happening over
Speaker 4: and over and over again. And what is amazing, Ben
Speaker 4: In spite of that, every Democrat in the Senate when
Speaker 4: we have a vote, the Department I'm less Security is
Speaker 4: still shut down because they have decided they hate ICE
Speaker 4: so much, they hate border enforcement so much that it
Speaker 4: is the position of the Democrat party they are opposed.
Speaker 4: They want to defund ICE, which is the organizations that
Speaker 4: is charged with finding this vicious criminal, arresting him and
Speaker 4: deporting him. They don't want him to port it. They
Speaker 4: want this Haitian murderer in your community. They don't care
Speaker 4: if you happen to be the poor woman who's bludgeoned
Speaker 4: to death. Look, you know, Chris Murphy, the very liberal
Speaker 4: Democrat from Connecticut was on TV, and you know, there's
Speaker 4: an old line that a gaff is when a politician
Speaker 4: actually accidentally tells the truth. He described he said, the
Speaker 4: people we care about the most, meaning we meaning Democrats,
Speaker 4: are illegal immigrants. That is what their party is. And
Speaker 4: it's infuriating. It keeps happening over and over and over again.
Speaker 1: When you talk about it still being shut down, and
Speaker 1: this is I think one of the midterms are going
Speaker 1: to be a really important obviously, this be one of
Speaker 1: the important issues of the midterms that Republicans need to
Speaker 1: remind if Democrats get back in charge, they've made it
Speaker 1: clear they will immediately open the borders wide up and
Speaker 1: they don't care who comes in. It's gonna happen. Get
Speaker 1: ready for it. That is their form, that is their policy,
Speaker 1: and they will absolutely abolish ice if they can do
Speaker 1: it as well.
Speaker 4: And by the way, understand, the risk is not just
Speaker 4: the murderers. It's not just the child molesters and the
Speaker 4: rapist and the gang bangers. It is also a very
Speaker 4: real risk of terrorism. We have seen in the last
Speaker 4: month four acts of terrorism by radical Islamic terrorists. And
Speaker 4: here's a story that broke this week. I'm just going
Speaker 4: to read a tweet from Bill Malusian, the fantastic reporter
Speaker 4: at Fox. Here's what he said. New Border patrol caught
Speaker 4: and arrested four British nationals entering the US illegally in
Speaker 4: a remote part of Maine after crossing from Canada. Their names,
Speaker 4: these are four British nationals. Mohammad Ali Abdullah that's number one,
Speaker 4: Hamid Mohammed Nagi that's number two, Ibrahim Ayub Khan that's
Speaker 4: number three, and Mohammed Sultan Salaih. And these are illegal
Speaker 4: immigrants that were sneaking into a remote wooded part of Maine.
Speaker 4: This is dangerous now, you know what happened. Because President
Speaker 4: Trump is in office and Border Patrol's allowed to do
Speaker 4: their job. They were apprehended. They weren't just let in
Speaker 4: and they're apprehended. You know what, I guarantee you they
Speaker 4: will not be released. They won't be released into this country.
Speaker 4: If Joe Biden were president, those four people whose names
Speaker 4: I just released, they named that they'd be released and
Speaker 4: we might be reading about them in another week or two.
Speaker 4: That pattern has played out over and over and over again.
Speaker 4: And by the way, it's not just illegal immigrants, it
Speaker 4: is criminals across the board. It is criminals across the board,
Speaker 4: such as for example, de Carlos Brown, who was this
Speaker 4: psychotic lunatic who murdered the beautiful Ukrainian woman in North Carolina.
Speaker 4: He was just ruled not competent to stand trial. And
Speaker 4: I don't doubt that the guy as crazy as a loon.
Speaker 4: But let's be clear, Democrats and Roy Cooper in particular,
Speaker 4: the Democrat governor released this psychopath murderer fourteen separate times
Speaker 4: fourteen If you keep releasing violent criminalism, and it actually
Speaker 4: helped me on this Benay play devil's advocate for a minute.
Speaker 4: Try to get inside the mind of a Democrat. Why
Speaker 4: would they want to release violent criminals over and over again.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it doesn't make sense, and yet they continue to
Speaker 1: do it because for them, I really do think it's
Speaker 1: an issue of politics, right, they want to bring in
Speaker 1: a new voters. That's the simplest way I can put it.
Speaker 4: Well, it's not just new voters, yes, for the illegals,
Speaker 4: but you look at this to Carlos Brown, he was
Speaker 4: not an illegal immigrant. He was just a psychopathic, lunatic American.
Speaker 4: But you know what Democrats also think, not only should
Speaker 4: he be released from jail, they think he ought to
Speaker 4: be a voter. He's perfectly fine to vote in US elections.
Speaker 4: And I guarantee you violent criminals vote overwhelmingly Democrat. And
Speaker 4: I guess that explains why the Democrats their priority is
Speaker 4: violent criminals and not American citizens.
Speaker 1: The easiest way I can describe this s next story
Speaker 1: is well, at least it's a big start for the
Speaker 1: president of United States of America. He promised that he
Speaker 1: was going to go after waste, fraud and abuse, and
Speaker 1: he was going to make sure the government was doing
Speaker 1: everything they could to make sure your tax dollars weren't
Speaker 1: being stolen. Well, now we're going to move to California,
Speaker 1: where officials there have just announced a major crackdown on
Speaker 1: healthcare fraud. They have dismantled what is being described as
Speaker 1: a massive two hundred and sixty seven million dollar hospice
Speaker 1: scam they're now calling the Operation Skip Trace. Authorities have
Speaker 1: also charged twenty one individuals in connection with this scheme.
Speaker 1: Several arrests have already been made, and many more are
Speaker 1: actually expected now. According to investigators, this was not a
Speaker 1: small time operation. It was a highly organized fraud ring
Speaker 1: that exploited California's medical system. That's the state's medicaid program.
Speaker 1: How do they do it? It's pretty simple. They were
Speaker 1: billing for hospice services that were never actually provided to anyone.
Speaker 1: In fact, officials say not a single legitimate hospice service
Speaker 1: was ever delivered to anyone, despite millions of dollars in
Speaker 1: claims and your tax dollars being stolen. The scheme worked
Speaker 1: with purchasing stolen personal information, in some cases from the
Speaker 1: dark web. Then they would use those identities to enroll
Speaker 1: fake patients into medical From there, the suspects used in network,
Speaker 1: as they described it at the press conference, of at
Speaker 1: least fourteen different hospice companies, often controlled by so called
Speaker 1: straw owners. They would then submit fraudulent claims and collect
Speaker 1: your tax dollars. Fox eleven, Los Angeles describing it this way.
Speaker 7: Sometimes the people who need to care the most end
Speaker 7: up in a system that needs watching too. State officials
Speaker 7: are now promising to continue their crackdown on hospice fraud.
Speaker 7: Investigation could raise bigger questions about trust, money and who
Speaker 7: profits at the end of life crackdowns now zeroing in
Speaker 7: a scheme has drained millions from Medical Fox eleven's Nick
Speaker 7: Grosias in downtown LA, where state leaders has stolen identities
Speaker 7: helped fuel this case.
Speaker 8: Brekfas seeing well. Attorney General Rob Bonta was here today
Speaker 8: to announce Operation Skip Trace, which happened yesterday and targeted
Speaker 8: twenty one suspects across ten different locations right here in
Speaker 8: southern California. Those suspects accused of defrauding the state of
Speaker 8: two hundred and sixty seven million dollars. A massive takedown
Speaker 8: of a complex fraud ring which investigators say took advantage
Speaker 8: of state money intended for hospice care.
Speaker 3: This was a brazen, calculated criminal scheme that exploited the
Speaker 3: medical system, stole from the State of California and Medicaid,
Speaker 3: and prevented services and care from going to sick individuals
Speaker 3: who actually need it.
Speaker 8: The suspects defrauded the state two hundred and sixty seven
Speaker 8: million dollars by using stolen identities to enroll in hospice.
Speaker 8: Five have been arrested so far. State officials say they're
Speaker 8: increasing protections.
Speaker 7: We are using a faster and more secure online process,
Speaker 7: and we're adding stronger checks to prevent fake applications or
Speaker 7: stolen identities from getting into the system.
Speaker 8: This operation comes as the federal government has started to
Speaker 8: crack down on hospice fraud. US Attorney Bill A. Saley
Speaker 8: on Good Day LA Thursday morning.
Speaker 9: Fraud hasn't always been a priority of the Department of Justice,
Speaker 9: particularly fraud against taxpayers. That is changing because when you
Speaker 9: defraud these programs, not only are fraudsters getting away with
Speaker 9: our money, it's taking money away from people really need it.
Speaker 8: But Attorney General Bonta says fraud has long been a
Speaker 8: priority for California's Department of Justice.
Speaker 3: Well, healthcare fraud might be President Trump's shiny new political
Speaker 3: talking point. California DOJ has been going after health care
Speaker 3: fraud since nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 1: By the way, I love how Democrats in California, as
Speaker 1: you just heard there saying, well, we've been on top
Speaker 1: of this. How was this uncovered? It wasn't because of
Speaker 1: their work. It was because of undercover individuals, literally citizen
Speaker 1: journalists who started looking and exposing all of the fraud.
Speaker 1: And now California is wanting you to believe that they've
Speaker 1: been on top of the issue all along. It's just
Speaker 1: not the case. Now, law enforcement did execute search warrants
Speaker 1: across multiple locations in southern California. We now know they
Speaker 1: sees cash, they seize firearms, and evidence tied to the operation.
Speaker 1: Prosecutors have hit the defendance with a range of serious charges,
Speaker 1: including healthcare fraud and any theft, conspiracy, and money laundering
Speaker 1: crimes that could carry significant prison time if they're convicted.
Speaker 1: By the way, to be clear, there's no indication that
Speaker 1: California is actually getting serious about really cracking down on this.
Speaker 1: They were shamed into doing their job.
Speaker 8: Now.
Speaker 1: The state officials, one that you just heard there says
Speaker 1: this case highlights a growing national problem. So they want
Speaker 1: you to believe that what you're witnessing in California is
Speaker 1: well happening where you live. And even if you're in
Speaker 1: a conservative state that cracks down on this stuff, they're
Speaker 1: telling you, no, no, there must be fraud there. We're
Speaker 1: not the only ones that have an issue. They also
Speaker 1: said they're sending a clear message those who exploit programs
Speaker 1: meant for the sick and vulnerable and still from taxpayers
Speaker 1: will be aggressively pursued and held accountable. Now there's also
Speaker 1: no indication that California is actually ready to do that.
Speaker 1: So the California Attorney General Rob Banta and the Department
Speaker 1: of Health Services there, they're now saying that you should
Speaker 1: be thanking them for taking down the staggering two hundred
Speaker 1: and sixty seven million dollar health care fraud ring. The
Speaker 1: only reason why this happened is because you had conservatives
Speaker 1: online that publicly shamed them into doing their job. The operation,
Speaker 1: which involved twenty one suspects so far, fourteen fraudulent companies
Speaker 1: targeting the state's medical system by billing for hospice services
Speaker 1: that were never rendered to anyone. That is the story
Speaker 1: that everyone should be angry about. Yeah, they've been charged,
Speaker 1: but it wasn't like California was actually leading the way.
Speaker 1: What's also interesting about these twenty one suspects have been
Speaker 1: charged is the investigation has now hit into one hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty associated shell companies as well. Now it's unclear
Speaker 1: exactly how much of the two hundred and sixty seven
Speaker 1: million is defrauded funds and how much of it can
Speaker 1: actually be recovered. Bonta noted that only about thirty million
Speaker 1: has been retrieved so far, so we're missing two hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty seven million. So when he says we're on
Speaker 1: top of it, ask yourself, if that's true, then where's
Speaker 1: the other two hundred and thirty plus million dollars that
Speaker 1: you promised?
Speaker 4: Now?
Speaker 1: Good Day, that is one of the leading morning shows
Speaker 1: in LA. They went on the air and they explained
Speaker 1: it to their audience a little bit differently.
Speaker 4: Listen carefully.
Speaker 6: These are cracking down on what they call a massive
Speaker 6: healthcare fraud scheme. Right here in California.
Speaker 5: Eight people are now under arrest, accused of running sham
Speaker 5: hospice operations that allegedly stole more than fifty million dollars
Speaker 5: from Medicare. The takedown, dubbed Operation Never Say Die, could
Speaker 5: signal a broader push to target fraud across the region.
Speaker 5: Joining US now is US Attorney Bill a Sale to
Speaker 5: break down the case, what it means for taxpayers, also
Speaker 5: the integrity of our healthcare system. Thank you so much
Speaker 5: for being here this morning.
Speaker 9: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 5: This is a big operation.
Speaker 8: It is big.
Speaker 9: It was one of the first operations under the Vice
Speaker 9: President's new Task Force on Fraud. We did in coordination
Speaker 9: with the Vice president and of course doctor Oz who
Speaker 9: oversees Medicare program. And we're out there early and we
Speaker 9: took down We announced fifteen separate cases, we arrested eight people,
Speaker 9: and again almost sixty million dollars in fraud just in
Speaker 9: one day.
Speaker 6: So explain how this hospice fraud worked. I mean, these
Speaker 6: little communities are sort of working together to try to
Speaker 6: try to scam the system.
Speaker 9: Yeah, a lot of these are repeat fraudsters. And what
Speaker 9: happens is they take advantage of vulnerabilities in our systems.
Speaker 9: So it starts with getting a hospice license through the
Speaker 9: state of California, and to be honest, California did not
Speaker 9: have good systems in place. They still don't for vetting
Speaker 9: and checking to make sure these are legitimate operators. Once
Speaker 9: they have that hospice license, they then have the ability
Speaker 9: to build Medicare. And that's what they were doing. They
Speaker 9: were submitting fraudulent names or in some cases they are
Speaker 9: real people's names, but they weren't really in hospice. They
Speaker 9: were not dying. That's why the operators say they die
Speaker 9: and billing millions and millions of dollars over a few years.
Speaker 5: Were these people getting kickbacks, then.
Speaker 9: Some were, some weren't. Yes, And again on average they
Speaker 9: got about five or six thousand dollars per name per month,
Speaker 9: and then they would kick back maybe three hundred dollars
Speaker 9: to the patients themselves. But the fraudsters, of course always
Speaker 9: going to want to keep most of the money.
Speaker 5: How long has this been going on.
Speaker 9: This has been going on for years. We've really seen
Speaker 9: an explosion uptake after COVID. There's a lot more money
Speaker 9: put into systems, put into PPP, and that's where I
Speaker 9: think fraudsters realize the amount of money that's available in
Speaker 9: these government accounts. But you know, the message you want
Speaker 9: to get across is fraud hasn't always been a priority
Speaker 9: of the Department of Justice, particularly fraud against taxpayers. That
Speaker 9: is changing because when you defraud these programs, not only
Speaker 9: are fraudsters getting away with our money, it's taking money
Speaker 9: away from people really need it. It's draining the healthcare
Speaker 9: system of important money that's needed for people who actually
Speaker 9: need it. And that's really the big message here.
Speaker 6: We do have the response from Governor Newsom and also
Speaker 6: ag Rob Bonta responded to this. You guys been going
Speaker 6: kind of back and forth online. And part of it
Speaker 6: is what they're saying is that it's the federal government
Speaker 6: that oversees Medicare, it's not us. They also are saying, look,
Speaker 6: we've been part of this partnership to crack down on
Speaker 6: this fraud in Medicare made huge strides in all of this.
Speaker 9: What do you have to say, Yeah, a couple things
Speaker 9: going on here. At number one, the federal government's basically
Speaker 9: the piggybank. It's the federal government provides most of the
Speaker 9: money that goes to these programs. However, they're administered by
Speaker 9: the states. It's the state of California that's responsible for hospice.
Speaker 9: California license every single hospice. They're supposed to be vetting
Speaker 9: and checking. And our criticism of the State of California
Speaker 9: is that they don't have sufficient measures in place to
Speaker 9: prevent and detect fraud. In the first instance, the money's
Speaker 9: going out the door, and then they're coming to us
Speaker 9: and saying, all this fraud occurred, help us get the
Speaker 9: bad guys. We don't want to pay in chase, we
Speaker 9: want to stop the fraud from happening.
Speaker 6: And the first one that's kind interesting is that no
Speaker 6: one denies that this is taking place. So even though
Speaker 6: they're saying we're fighting at also everybody admits that this
Speaker 6: is a big deal.
Speaker 9: It's a massive deal. I think the state does dispute
Speaker 9: the extent how much it is. We think it's potentially
Speaker 9: in the hundreds of billions of dollars. But again, the
Speaker 9: focus has always been to push money out the door.
Speaker 9: I was in Sacramento, I was a legislator up there.
Speaker 9: They want to get as much money out the door
Speaker 9: as possible. That's how they measure success. We want to
Speaker 9: change that mindset. We want to focus on making sure
Speaker 9: that the fraudsters never get the money in the first place,
Speaker 9: so we're not having to chase them down, arrest them
Speaker 9: and try to recover money after the fact.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, what happens to all that money now?
Speaker 9: Well, a lot of it gets spent, Honestly, a lot
Speaker 9: of it fraudsters.
Speaker 5: They are very luxury cars and.
Speaker 9: Homes, hotels, vacations, bags. So we try to recover as
Speaker 9: much of it as we can. We will seize properties,
Speaker 9: we will seize cars, we will seize bank accounts, but frankly,
Speaker 9: a lot of it gets spent, and a lot of
Speaker 9: these fraudsters are also tied to international organizations and the
Speaker 9: money goes out the countries.
Speaker 1: Let's just pause there, and I want you to just
Speaker 1: think about what you just heard there on the local
Speaker 1: Fox affiliate. And they're doing a better job on Good
Speaker 1: Day LA talking about this. They're also telling you the
Speaker 1: truth of the money is going overseas, and they're also
Speaker 1: telling you the truth that Democrats can say how they
Speaker 1: want to this is somehow a federal problem instead of
Speaker 1: a local problem, and the way that they described it,
Speaker 1: but they're also saying, like, let's be clear, they're the
Speaker 1: ones that are over all of this, and that clearly
Speaker 1: is part of the hypocrisy here. Democrats did not care
Speaker 1: that this fraud was taking place. They knew about it.
Speaker 1: There were people, multiple people that had alerted them of
Speaker 1: what they saw was clearly fraud, and they looked the
Speaker 1: other way. Why because they don't care if people are
Speaker 1: stealing from you, the taxpayer. They don't care what's happening
Speaker 1: here as long as they're getting a little bit of
Speaker 1: a kickback. We saw the kickbacks by the way Minnesota,
Speaker 1: where many of these fraudsters were giving political donations to
Speaker 1: You guessed it. The Democrats that were in charge at
Speaker 1: the local, state and the national level. Now this much fraud.
Speaker 1: There were massive signs. Everyone knew there were signs, and
Speaker 1: they didn't care. The question we should be asking now
Speaker 1: is why and what did they know? When do they
Speaker 1: know it? And how much are they hiding from all
Speaker 1: of us. Make sure you share this podcast please wherever
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Speaker 1: you back here tomorrow.