Giving no evidence, Oz claims “Russian-Armenian mafia” in LA hospices
California governor sues Oz with civil rights complaint
In what has become standard practice for federal health agency heads - RFK Jr., Marty Makary, and, in this case, Dr. Oz - bold claims have been made without any evidence provided to back them up.
Dr. Oz recently flew to Los Angeles and recorded a video of himself in front of an Armenian bakery, claiming that were dozens of fraudulent hospices in the area, which he blamed on the “Russian Armenian Mafia.” Oz, who loves being on camera, was also on video as he was driven through area neighborhoods. Again, no evidence was provided - and, to the best of my knowledge - has still not been provided eight days later. Here’s a Los Angeles TV news story:
The Los Angeles Times covered the story under this headline:
Excerpts:
…it has become increasingly difficult to separate substantiated fraud from fabricated or recycled claims, to distinguish old findings from newly raised allegations and to determine who can credibly claim credit for uncovering wrongdoing — all amid a toxic and deeply polarized political climate. …
Fraud allegations are increasingly being deployed as a political weapon against (California Governor Gavin) Newsom, a leading Trump critic and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender. …
“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible???” wrote Trump, using a disparaging nickname for the governor. …
Newsom said there is a reason the Trump administration is not pointing to fraud in Republican-led states.
“This is about polarization, politicalization, weaponization,” Newsom said.
It is noteworthy that the two biggest Medicaid fraud accusations - as the President alluded - are in two blue states in which Trump never won elections - although he has falsely claimed that he won the state of Minnesota in 2016, 2020 and 2024. Red states that have considerable Medicaid fraud such as Texas and Florida were not targeted first.
Clearly, it’s easy to claim how “huge” a problem is when you provide no evidence. Maybe that evidence is forthcoming. But who knows if or when?
The failure to provide any evidence about the Los Angeles claims up to this point is concerning. PBS was among the news outlets reporting that “Oz and CMS didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint or the content of the video, and they haven't publicly shared details that confirm the fraud being alleged.”
Newsom said his office would file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services accusing Oz of discrimination.
Newsom disputed the claims in Oz's video and noted on social media that California had revoked more than 280 hospice licenses and banned new licenses starting in 2022 because of concerns about fraud.
STAT News reported on Armenian-American criticism of Oz, “whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Turkey.”
Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, said Oz’s connections to Turkey are concerning. That nation’s government does not acknowledge the killing and deportation of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 1900s, known as the Armenian genocide. …
“Dr. Oz is taking this in an entirely destructive direction by scapegoating, by fear-mongering, by staging the theatric collective indictment of all Armenians.”
Turkey and Armenia have long been strained by historic grievances and Turkey’s alliance with Azerbaijan.
In Minnesota, allegations of fraud involving Somali-run day care centers is what led to a massive federal immigration enforcement surge in the state. But don’t forget how a discredited video reignited the heat over fraud in Minnesota:
The day after Christmas, right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a lengthy video with explosive allegations that members of Minneapolis’s large Somali community were running fake child care centers so they could collect federal child care subsidies. … But the Minneapolis video’s central claims — that business owners were billing the government for children they were not caring for — were disproven by inspectors.
Nonetheless, the surge was underway. That, in turn, has led to widespread public outcries of criticism from Minnesota residents, local police departments, the governor, the mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, clergy, physicians and many others. Federal agents have shot three people in Minneapolis. Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed. The state attorney general said that:
Immigration enforcement is clearly a pretext for the surge. ..Claims of fighting fraud are clearly a pretext as well, as immigration enforcement agents generally have no specialized expertise in combatting fraud and randomly stopping people on the street and demanding their papers does nothing to combat fraud.
Looking back, it’s impossible to overlook how Trump warned Minnesotans on social media - and what those words foreshadowed:
“THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!”
So, look out, LA.
Thank you for calling this out. The propaganda machine in this administration is taking a playbook from Russia and North Korea. The conflict of interest from huckster “ Oz” is appalling. The only part you missed was the intent of continued chaos to distract from the Epstein scandal. That so many in the administration are willing to partake is what is most troubling. Voices of truth are needed. Keep it up.