California’s $2 billion medical fraud shame hid in plain sight — all we had to do was look

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

CA Post Editorial Board. (2026, October 22). California’s $2 billion medical fraud shame hid in plain sight — all we had to do was look. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/22/opinion/californias-2-billion-medical-fraud-hid-in-plain-sight/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-22 · by CA Post Editorial Board

Quick Summary

Federal investigators uncovered a $2 billion medical fraud ring in California, involving unnecessary surgeries, fake rehab centers, and various other schemes that exploited vulnerable populations and defrauded taxpayers. Two suspects are accused of performing over $134 million worth of unnecessary surgeries by deceiving patients about arterial disease conditions. The article highlights the complicity of some California leaders who turned a blind eye to these issues until federal prosecutor Bill Essayli took action, emphasizing the scale and impact of medical fraud in the state.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-22, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

As of October 22, 2026, fifteen people were charged and at least eight arrested in California for a fraud scheme involving nearly $2 billion in fraudulent healthcare claims. The Department of Justice and state prosecutors targeted substance abuse treatment centers, hospice services, and surgeons suspected of defrauding Medicaid and Medicare programs. At least six of those charged were doctors; one doctor is accused of performing unnecessary surgeries to bill Medicaid over $130 million. The scheme allegedly involved luring patients with false promises and exploiting homeless individuals by offering them drugs and incentives to participate in fraudulent treatment programs. This case highlights the extensive abuse within federal aid programs, which President Donald Trump's administration aims to curb.

Written for “California Public Benefits Fraud Investigation” on 2026-10-23, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans left for article 100419 (high confidence, 5 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-22

Story

📰 California Public Benefits Fraud Investigation
Crime & Law · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
California only has itself to blame for Medicaid funding cuts due to fraud different event · 95%
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 10% hedged 2 of 20 📰 publisher trust 66
“The articles describe different events: one about Medicaid funding cuts due to suspected fraud, and the other about a $2 billion medical fraud ring uncovered by federal investigators.”
California latest target in Department of Justice efforts to end public benefits fraud same event · 95%
Toronto Star
⚖️ Centre further right than this 🔴 33% hedged 1 of 3 📰 publisher trust 64
“Both articles describe the same day's announcement by federal authorities of a $2 billion healthcare fraud case in California involving multiple arrests and charges against individuals, including doctors.”
Dr Oz takes Americans behind the doors of 'clubhouse for crooks' as feds hunt Medicare fraud different event · 50%
Fox News
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 21% hedged 4 of 19 📰 publisher trust 67
“Article A discusses a documentary about Medicare fraud investigations, while Article B reports on a specific $2 billion medical fraud ring being investigated by federal authorities.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

CA Post Editorial Board
59 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 They exploited the most vulnerable — so they could live large on taxpayers’ money.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · California’s $2 billion medical fraud shame hid in plain sight — all we had to do was look
🔮 When will Gavin Newsom and his party learn that fraud doesn’t pay?
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · California only has itself to blame for Medicaid funding cuts due to fraud
🔮 So when Bratton says Nithya Raman would be making a terrible mistake if she were to follow through on her campaign pledge to fire current LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, that ought to count.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · LA voters, and Nithya Raman, should listen to top cop’s warning
🔮 The feds called “Operation Protect the Vote” the largest voter fraud bust in state history. And it underscores a basic truth in California: Fraud of all kinds has run amok for years; it needs to end; and state voters in November would do well to support Prop. 39, the Voter ID act — to help ensure that at least part of it does.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Inside Democrats’ absurd push to downplay noncitizen voting and block Voter ID
🔮 But the state allocated $368.7 million to developers to build dense, low-income housing projects, without any guarantee fire victims would benefit.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · State sends wildfire aid to low-income housing while fire victims fight for their homes
🔮 California education officials may pat themselves on the back for a 1% increase in math scores and a 0.5% increase in English scores.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · California’s schools fail most kids year after year — the real definition of insanity
🔮 Democrats knew that if he built that wall, he would be seen as a successful president — and not just as a fluke.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · California Dems don’t care about your safety — that’s why they’ve opposed the border wall
🔮 That’s a question voters will be asking after the city attorney’s latest bombshell report.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Nithya Raman must explain why she sent ‘Mansion Tax’ cash to dodgy foundation
🔮 In January 2025, LA Mayor Karen Bass infamously left town for Ghana, despite dire fire warnings.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Deadly Santa Ana winds return to fire-scarred LA — but have officials learned anything?
🔮 But no one will state the obvious, as long as both of them — the Republican who launched it, the Democrat who extended it — agree to keep pretending.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Gavin Newsom and Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn’t have looked happier slapping backs — but it’s Californians who suffer
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by CA Post Editorial Board
Decoding why California’s gas prices are higher than a chain of islands deep in the Pacific
2026-10-22 · New York Post
California only has itself to blame for Medicaid funding cuts due to fraud
2026-10-22 · New York Post
LA voters, and Nithya Raman, should listen to top cop’s warning
2026-10-21 · New York Post
Inside Democrats’ absurd push to downplay noncitizen voting and block Voter ID
2026-10-20 · New York Post
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 59 articles by CA Post Editorial Board →

Topics

California Democrats Medicare Sacramento U.S.

Subjects

California GPE · 5× Essayli PERSON · 2× Bill Essayli PERSON · 1× Democrats NORP · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Medicare ORG · 1× Sacramento GPE · 1× The California Post App ORG · 1× U.S. GPE · 1×

Narrative

It’s no wonder Democrats silenced Essayli in Sacramento. And no wonder President Donald Trump wanted him in the prosecutor’s office. Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-22
🔮 They exploited the most vulnerable — so they could live large on taxpayers’ money.
2026-10-22 · New York Post
California’s $2 billion medical fraud shame hid in plain sight — all we had to do was look · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

It’s amazing how deep the rot goes when someone decides to find it and get rid of it. asserted
someone → ’ → it
Federal investigators swooped in Thursday on a massive $2 billion medical fraud ring. asserted
investigators → swoop → ring
Some of the crimes the suspects are alleged to have committed are shocking. asserted
suspects → allege → crimes
Two are accused of swindling patients into believing that they had arterial disease, then conducting unnecessary surgery and billing Medicare to the tune of $134 million. asserted
they → accuse → million
One even lured patients into the scheme by offering groceries and $50 gift cards to poor people. asserted
One → lure → people
They exploited the most vulnerable — so they could live large on taxpayers’ money. uncertain
they → exploit → money
Other suspects are accused of luring addicts, including homeless people, to drug treatment programs that provided no help to them but billed insurance companies for the cost of rehab. asserted
that → accuse → rehab
Sometimes, the “body brokers” who trafficked these addicts across the country would offer them drugs to participate. asserted
who → traffic → drugs
These scams are part of the reason the homeless population grew over the past several years in California. asserted
population → grow → California
When the insurance money for rehab runs out, the scam artists just abandon the addicts to their fates, and to the streets of LA. asserted
artists → run → LA
Others were charged with hospice fraud and a variety of other fake medical schemes. asserted
Others → charge → schemes
Some people who had unnecessary surgery allegedly suffered severe injuries. uncertain
who → have → injuries
Some people — especially addicts — who needed real medical treatment never received it. asserted
who → need → it
And the taxpayers were stuck with the bill, pouring payroll taxes into a bottomless pit of corruption and greed. asserted
taxpayers → stick → corruption
It’s absolutely appalling that this was allowed to go on in California for so long. asserted
this → ’ → California
And people knew that something was wrong — that the phony rehab centers were luring clients to the state, for example. asserted
centers → know → example
Yet too many so-called leaders in California turned a blind eye. asserted
leaders → call → eye
It took an energetic federal prosecutor, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, to take the problem seriously. asserted
It → take → problem
It turns out there’s so much fraud in California that Essayli doesn’t need a flashlight to find it. asserted
Essayli → turn → it
He can use a floodlight. asserted
He → use → floodlight
It’s everywhere. asserted
It → ’ → ?
And it’s been tolerated because of a culture of complacency. asserted
it → tolerate → complacency
When there is political will to find the fraud, it turns out to be easy. asserted
it → be → fraud
It’s no wonder Democrats silenced Essayli in Sacramento. And no wonder President Donald Trump wanted him in the prosecutor’s office. Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters asserted
Trump → ’ → newsletters
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