Dr. Mehmet Oz Targets Medicare Fraud in Minnesota, California, Florida, New York, Maine

The Trump administration’s Medicare and Medicaid fraud crackdown is being driven by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, who told Fox News Digital that he is “zeroing in on five states” as federal pressure escalates on states to tighten anti-fraud enforcement.

Oz said, “We've written letters to Minnesota, California, a letter to Florida because we're worried about the durable medical equipment fraud … New York, Maine, and there are more coming,” adding that his concern expands to all 50 states.

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In the same Fox News Digital interview, Oz described the anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance and said, “The vice president's task force continues to work closely with Dr. Oz and CMS to track down and root out fraud.”

Oz also said he suspects foreign governments are involved, telling Fox News Digital, “We have evidence that foreign nationals certainly are involved in a lot of this fraud. There's a Russian mafia presence in Los Angeles. There's Chinese mafia presence, for example, in Flushing Queens [New York].”

The crackdown is tied to federal actions aimed at providers, including a nationwide moratorium on durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers, which the Vance spokesperson described as “a nationwide moratorium.”

Oz further said governors and state Medicaid leaders were given deadlines in April, stating, “Oz gave governors and state Medicaid leaders 10 business days in April to tell CMS whether they will commit to conducting a swift ‘revalidation’ of high-risk Medicaid providers,” and he referenced “a separate 30-day deadline for a broader provider-revalidation strategy.”

CNN’s account places Oz at the center of the effort, describing that “Oz has been a key part of the fraud campaign” and quoting CMS as saying, “With a whole of government approach, the task force, HHS and CMS are delivering at record pace win after win on the President’s War on Fraud.”

The fraud campaign has also produced a diplomatic dispute involving Cuba, after the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied Trump Administration allegations of a supposed multi-million-dollar fraud against Medicare and Medicaid in South Florida.

Telemundo Miami (51) reported that Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba's foreign minister, said in a statement, “This is yet another smear promoted by anti‑Cuban sectors in that country.”

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The same report says Dr. Mehmet Oz stated the fraud in the Miami area was “out of control” and argued that the Cuban government “could be involved” in these schemes.

Telemundo Miami (51) quotes Cuba’s communiqué saying, “Cuba has a firm stance of rejecting this and other transnational crimes,” and it adds that the U.S. government “is well aware of this, having exchanged and coordinated with the Cuban authorities on joint actions in terrorism, judicial assistance, commercial security, illicit drug trafficking, human smuggling, immigration fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, and financial crimes.”

The Cuban government also asserted, “The U.S. government officials cited for this smear knowingly misstate the truth,” and it reiterated “its claimed willingness to jointly confront transnational crimes through timely information exchange.”

Telemundo Miami (51) further reports that Oz told Fox that since late March he had sought information on how Florida was addressing the alleged problem, noting that “some of those involved would be Cuban immigrants who defrauded the system and then left the country.”

The Telemundo Miami (51) article then includes a counterpoint from “a source consulted,” which said, “What I tell you is totally speculative, but as far as what people know as the crime of health‑care system fraud, I don’t think it’s possible,” and it describes U.S. authorities as remaining on alert for irregularities such as “unusual increases in beneficiaries or suspicious movements among health plans.”

Beyond the state-by-state letters and revalidation demands, the administration’s fraud campaign is described in the sources as involving federal law enforcement actions and a named initiative.

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Telemundo Miami (51) says that “The latest arrests occurred Saturday in Los Angeles, where eight people—including three nurses, a chiropractor, and an alleged psychologist—faced federal charges for an alleged $50 million fraud,” and it quotes Vice President JD Vance saying his team “didn’t waste any time” in taking action against this type of crime.

The same Telemundo Miami (51) report describes a “multi‑agency investigation by federal and local authorities into fraud related to Medicare’s palliative care system” that led to the arrest of eight people in Southern California, with the Department of Justice saying the defendants face charges of conspiring to defraud the country’s health care system of “more than $50 million.”

It also quotes Akil Davis, Deputy Director in charge of the FBI office in Los Angeles, saying, “The United States loses hundreds of billions of dollars annually due to fraud against the health care system, to the detriment of all American taxpayers, whose benefits decrease as premiums, copays, and taxes rise. Our goal is to reverse that trend with ‘Operation Never Say Die’ and other similar initiatives.”

Telemundo Miami (51) provides individual allegations and numbers, including that Lolita Beronilla Minerd, 65, of Anaheim, was charged with filing fraudulent Medicare palliative care claims totaling “more than $9 million,” of which Medicare paid “more than $8 million.”

The report says Minerd and others allegedly told a couple that “if they enrolled, everything would be free and each would receive $300 a month,” and it states, “The money was handed over in cash, inside an envelope: $600 monthly for six months,” according to the release.

CNN’s broader framing of Oz’s campaign describes that he has filmed himself “tagging along with armed federal agents raiding allegedly fraudulent healthcare providers,” and it says he estimates that “fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program total $100 billion.”

CNN’s reporting describes how Oz’s fraud-fighting campaign has been built around high-visibility messaging and on-site enforcement, while also citing skepticism from researchers about the scale and framing of fraud claims.

CNN says Oz is “harnessing his charisma and TV skills” to argue that Medicare and Medicaid are “riddled with fraud,” and it describes him going “on-site in multiple, mostly Democratic-led, states to film video after video calling out improper and questionable spending.”

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CNN also says Oz has filmed himself “tagging along with armed federal agents raiding allegedly fraudulent healthcare providers,” and it frames the effort as part of messaging aimed at voters about healthcare costs.

At the same time, CNN quotes Andy Schneider, a research professor at Georgetown University and former CMS senior adviser during the Obama administration, who said, “There is fraud against Medicaid, and we need to get on it. But I don’t believe it’s ‘rampant.’ I don’t believe it’s ‘staggering,’ and I don’t think there’s any evidence for that.”

CNN reports that CMS responded by saying Oz has been a key part of the fraud campaign, quoting CMS: “With a whole of government approach, the task force, HHS and CMS are delivering at record pace win after win on the President’s War on Fraud.”

CNN also describes the political and operational setup behind the campaign, saying that “Not long after Trump won the presidency in 2024,” Oz and other allies convened at Oz’s mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, where they discussed “how they were going to fix healthcare.”

CNN’s account includes a quote from Michael Caputo, a former health official from the first Trump administration, calling the gathering “healthcare Hyannis Port,” and it says current and former Trump officials described a “cost-cutting, fraud-finding crusade.”

The sources portray the next phase of the crackdown as a combination of provider revalidation, continued enforcement actions, and further scrutiny of where fraud is said to concentrate.

“The first tranche aims to fast track repairs for critical sites before winter, but regions must move quickly to access funds”

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Fox News Digital reports that Oz put “all 50 states on notice,” ordering governors to identify and remove noncompliant Medicaid providers, and it says he gave governors and state Medicaid leaders “10 business days in April” to tell CMS whether they would commit to “a swift ‘revalidation’ of high-risk Medicaid providers.”

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Fox News Digital also says Oz warned that “We can audit states that don't want to comply with the revalidation request,” and he urged, “Let’s revalidate, which means double-check that everyone is providing services within Medicaid, especially for these high-risk services where these are the things your family would normally do for you.”

In the same interview, Oz described the types of services he said might fall outside Medicaid scope, including “autism babysitters, non-emergency transport to clinics and services such as carrying and delivering groceries,” which he said may reveal fraud.

Telemundo Miami (51) adds that authorities remained on alert for “unusual increases in beneficiaries or suspicious movements among health plans,” and it reports that “The latest arrests occurred Saturday in Los Angeles” with eight people facing federal charges tied to an alleged $50 million fraud.

Telemundo Miami (51) also states that “Six of the defendants arrested this Thursday will appear in court this afternoon,” and it says “The defendants face up to 10 years in federal prison,” indicating near-term legal consequences for those charged.

CNN’s account describes the campaign’s operational tempo as “record pace win after win,” while also describing that Oz’s approach includes “letters to governors with demands for information about their Medicaid programs” and “social media videos” aimed at public messaging.