You knew it was coming. After rampant fraud was uncovered in Gov. Tim Walz’s Minnesota, all eyes turned to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California, where it was a widely known “secret” that fraud was being practiced on a biblical scale in the one-party, corrupt state.
On Thursday, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced that the chickens were coming home to roost:
In coordination with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, federal law enforcement executed several arrests and search warrants in the Los Angeles area this morning targeting hospice and health care fraud.
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) April 2, 2026
Operation Never Say Die involves 11 defendants who engaged in fraud totaling… pic.twitter.com/hQtKjsZFBL
Operation Never Say Die involves 11 defendants who engaged in fraud totaling more than $50 million. Those arrested today will appear in federal court this afternoon.
A press conference with more details is happening shortly.
I have to say, I love the name of the mission: “Operation Never Say Die.” All of us who are James Bond fans are proud of this moment.
The Department of Justice gave more details on their website:
In coordination with the Vice President’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, eight defendants, including three nurses, a chiropractor, and a psychologist, have been arrested on federal charges that they schemed to defraud the nation’s health care system out of more than $50 million – including by running sham hospice care facilities that bilked Medicare by using people without terminal illnesses as beneficiaries, the Justice Department announced today.
Six of the defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. One defendant is expected to make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Idaho.
“We are enforcing a zero-tolerance policy for criminals who defraud American taxpayers,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “The defendants arrested this morning who are charged with stealing millions of dollars of health care benefits got caught and now face years in federal prison.”
RedState Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar has been providing receipts on social media; here’s just some of what she’s reporting:
The owners of 626 Hospice in Glendale used their daughter's name to open a hospice, since the true owners both had criminal records
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) April 2, 2026
$5.2 million in fraudulent claims, received more than $4 million
Non-death discharge rate was above 70%, none of the beneficiaries investigators… pic.twitter.com/WvwipFt4Z2
MORE: Newsom Tries to Shame Nick Shirley for Investigating CA Fraud; Shirley Smokes Him With Brutal Reply
Newsom’s Hospice Fraud 'Crackdown' Collapses: 197 Agencies Registered to One Address
Newsom’s California is a particularly ripe environment for fraud, prosecutors allege:
“The Southern California region is a high-risk environment for hospice-related and many other forms of health care fraud,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The United States loses hundreds of billions of dollars annually to healthcare fraud at the expense of all American taxpayers, whose benefits decrease as premiums, co-payments and taxes grow. Our aim is to reverse that trend with ‘Operation Never Say Die’ and others like it.”
I have the strong feeling that this is just the beginning. The Golden State has thrown billions and billions at healthcare for illegal immigrants, boondoggle green energy experiments, bridges to nowhere, and homelessness, yet there’s little to show for it. Where’d it all go?
We’re starting to find out.
UPDATE 4/2/26 3:30 p.m. ET: I'm adding this tweet by Vice President JD Vance:
Our task force isn’t wasting any time cracking down on fraud.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 2, 2026
This morning in the LA area, federal law enforcement is taking down fraudsters who stole $50M+ from Americans by defrauding our healthcare and hospice systems.
Thanks to @DrOzCMS and @USAttyEssayli for their work. https://t.co/6rT6rm38rL
Editor’s Note: California is the poster child for everything that is wrong with the Democrat Party and the “progressive” movement.
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