Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Forty Years Gone in Forty Days plus Deportation Orders Ignored, another Violent Crime

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Forty Years Gone in Forty Days plus Deportation Orders Ignored, another Violent Crime · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

0:01
Speaker 1: Sencom chief has come out and said that Iran has
0:04
Speaker 1: suffered a generational military defeat. Forty year military build up
0:09
Speaker 1: crushed in under forty days. If you do the math
0:12
Speaker 1: on that, that means for every year it took them
0:15
Speaker 1: to build their military, we were able to dismantle it
0:18
Speaker 1: in a twenty four hour period. The US Central Command
0:22
Speaker 1: Commander Adam Brad Cooper said Thursday, the United States not
0:26
Speaker 1: only has achieved its core military objectives under Operation Epic Fury,
0:31
Speaker 1: but declaring Iran has suffered a generational military defeat. That
0:37
Speaker 1: is obviously a big point of contention for the left
0:41
Speaker 1: because they want you to believe that what has happened
0:43
Speaker 1: so far has been a total failure. Now, as he
0:46
Speaker 1: was providing an update on the fragile ceasefire that has
0:49
Speaker 1: taken hold right now, Cooper said that US forces not
0:53
Speaker 1: only dismantled Iranian regime's ability to project power beyond its borders,
0:58
Speaker 1: but also saying this, we set out to dismantle that capability,
1:03
Speaker 1: and we clearly accomplished that major task. He said, Iran's
1:08
Speaker 1: conventional military had been built up over forty years is
1:11
Speaker 1: in essence gone. I want you to take a listen
1:15
Speaker 1: to the update from the Sentcom commander on Operation Epic
1:19
Speaker 1: Fury in his own words.
1:21
Speaker 2: I'm madwal Brad Cooper, Commander of US Central Command. Less
1:24
Speaker 2: than six weeks ago, more than fifty thousand of America's
1:28
Speaker 2: sons and daughters in uniform launched Operation Epic Fury and
1:31
Speaker 2: embarked on a mission of profound consequence. We set out
1:35
Speaker 2: to dismantle the Iranian regime's ability to project power beyond
1:39
Speaker 2: its own borders, and we clearly accomplished this task. Iran
1:44
Speaker 2: has suffered a generational military defeat. The United States and
1:48
Speaker 2: Israel systematically destroyed Iran's ability to conduct large scale military
1:53
Speaker 2: operations for years to come. Iran's conventional military capability, built
1:58
Speaker 2: over forty years at the cost the billions of dollars,
2:01
Speaker 2: has been eliminated. As the President expressed earlier this week,
2:05
Speaker 2: our core strategic military objectives have been achieved. After destroying
2:10
Speaker 2: Iran's missile, drone, and naval capabilities and their defensive industrial base.
2:15
Speaker 2: After successfully conducting more than thirteen thousand strikes on Iranian
2:19
Speaker 2: military targets and flying thousands upon thousands of combat flights,
2:24
Speaker 2: US forces have paused offensive operations in accordance with the
2:27
Speaker 2: ongoing ceasefire. However, we remain present, we remain vigilant, and
2:33
Speaker 2: we remain ready if called. We also continue to stand
2:37
Speaker 2: shoulder to shoulder with our regional partners in maintaining the
2:40
Speaker 2: most sophisticated and largest active air defense umbrella in the world.
2:47
Speaker 2: At the beginning of this campaign, I sent a letter
2:49
Speaker 2: to the force expressing my expectations, and our extraordinary warfighters
2:54
Speaker 2: exceeded each in every one of them. So to all
2:57
Speaker 2: our soldiers, sailors, marines, air men, guardians and coastguardsmen operating forward,
3:03
Speaker 2: you represent the strongest, most lethal military the world has
3:07
Speaker 2: ever known. In less than forty days, you destroyed the
3:10
Speaker 2: military that are on built for over forty years.
3:13
Speaker 3: Your courage, grit.
3:14
Speaker 2: And ingenuity have served America extremely well. Finally, I want
3:19
Speaker 2: to close by remembering and honoring our thirteen fallen warriors
3:22
Speaker 2: who made the ultimate sacrifice during Operation Epic Fury. We
3:26
Speaker 2: continue to hold their memories and their families, their friends
3:29
Speaker 2: and their teammates, and our prayers. Their selfless service and
3:33
Speaker 2: dedication will always be remembered as future generations follow their
3:37
Speaker 2: example and carry forward their legacy. Our men and women
3:41
Speaker 2: in uniform represent the best of America. I just could
3:45
Speaker 2: not be prouder and more humble to serve with them,
3:48
Speaker 2: and I know the American people share that same pride.
3:51
Speaker 2: So to our warriors stay sharp, remain resolved, and continue
3:55
Speaker 2: to take care of one another.
3:56
Speaker 1: He characterize what we've done so far as a comprey
4:00
Speaker 1: hints of dismantling of Iran's war machine. The samecom commander,
4:05
Speaker 1: emphasizing the scale of the operation, know that US forces
4:08
Speaker 1: and this is truly incredible. More than thirteen thousand strikes
4:12
Speaker 1: on Iranian military targets alone, while also flying thousands upon
4:17
Speaker 1: thousands of combat missions over the course of the campaign
4:21
Speaker 1: in less than forty days. You destroyed the military that
4:23
Speaker 1: Arean built over forty years. That still is amazing to
4:27
Speaker 1: me that he can say that America is entering the
4:30
Speaker 1: two hundred and fiftieth year and the direction of this
4:33
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Speaker 1: seven to two Patriot switch today. He also said that
5:57
Speaker 1: more than fifty thousand American service members literally took part
6:01
Speaker 1: in the operation. He said it's a profound consequence for
6:06
Speaker 1: all of those involved, adding that those forces exceeded each
6:11
Speaker 1: and every expectation set at the outset of the campaign. Now,
6:16
Speaker 1: while offensive operations have paused in accordance with a ceasefire,
6:21
Speaker 1: you also heard him stressed that US forces remain fully
6:24
Speaker 1: engaged and postured across the region, saying, quote, we remain present,
6:30
Speaker 1: we remain vigilant, and we remain ready if called, adding
6:34
Speaker 1: that US forces continued to send shoulder to shoulder with
6:38
Speaker 1: regional partners to maintain the most sophisticated and largest active
6:41
Speaker 1: air defense umbrella in the world.
6:44
Speaker 3: Now.
6:44
Speaker 1: This update also came as President Trump wrote later Wednesday
6:47
Speaker 1: night on True Social the US forces will remain positioned
6:51
Speaker 1: in and around Iran until what he described as a
6:55
Speaker 1: real agreement is fully implemented, saying this all US ships, aircraft,
7:03
Speaker 1: and military personnel will remain in place. Trump wrote warning
7:07
Speaker 1: that if the agreement is not upheld, the shooting starts
7:11
Speaker 1: bigger and better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before.
7:16
Speaker 1: Trump added that the objective remains the same to ensure
7:21
Speaker 1: in all caps, no nuclear weapons and that the straightupforemus
7:26
Speaker 1: and all caps again will be open and safe, while
7:30
Speaker 1: signaling continued military readiness riding that US forces are loaded
7:34
Speaker 1: up and resting as they look ahead to their next
7:39
Speaker 1: quote unquote conquest.
7:41
Speaker 3: Now.
7:42
Speaker 1: Cooper also concluded by honoring there and this is something
7:46
Speaker 1: that the media has not done the brave. Thirteen US
7:50
Speaker 1: service members have been killed during Operation Epic Fury. As
7:54
Speaker 1: he said there, their sacrifice will always be remembered and
7:58
Speaker 1: praised their helpless service and dedication as a lasting legacy
8:03
Speaker 1: for future generations, saying, our men and women in uniform
8:06
Speaker 1: represent the best of America. Amen, by the way for
8:09
Speaker 1: him saying that, He also said I could not be
8:12
Speaker 1: prouder and more humble to serve with them.
8:14
Speaker 3: I couldn't agree more. Now.
8:16
Speaker 1: These remarks are important because they come as the US brokeercies.
8:22
Speaker 1: Fire remains in place, but clearly it is teetering. Military
8:28
Speaker 1: leaders have emphasized that while active combat operations have pause,
8:32
Speaker 1: the US forces remain prepared to resume action if conditions
8:36
Speaker 1: on the ground change or shift in any capacity. This
8:40
Speaker 1: also goes back to Iran, and what Iran is doing
8:44
Speaker 1: right now is they're trying to figure out what they
8:47
Speaker 1: can get away with. In fact, Trump even had to
8:50
Speaker 1: say today that this trait of Hormuz, Iran better be careful,
8:55
Speaker 1: He warned Iran again. The charging fees on takers that
9:00
Speaker 1: are trafficking through the straight of her moves, well, that's
9:03
Speaker 1: not going to be allowed, saying, quote their reports, Irana's
9:07
Speaker 1: charging fees to tankers going through the stead of removes
9:10
Speaker 1: they better not me and if they are, they.
9:12
Speaker 3: Better stop now now.
9:14
Speaker 1: That statement also follows reports that Irragan authorities, desperate for
9:19
Speaker 1: cash right now are enforced link to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard,
9:24
Speaker 1: have demanded up to two million dollars from large tankers
9:30
Speaker 1: for safe passage through the narrow twenty two mile waterway
9:34
Speaker 1: connecting the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. Some payments
9:38
Speaker 1: have reported have been discussed or accepted in Chinese yen
9:42
Speaker 1: or cryptocurrencies, including dollar pegged stable coins as well. On Wednesday,
9:49
Speaker 1: ABC News correspondent Jonathan Carl reported asking Trump about the
9:54
Speaker 1: alleged tolls. Here is what the present had to say, the.
10:00
Speaker 4: Straight upons they're charging some desols to go through.
10:04
Speaker 3: Well, should they be able to? You know, I mean
10:07
Speaker 3: they shouldn't be able to, but they're doing it a
10:10
Speaker 3: little bit. I don't know.
10:11
Speaker 5: Look, look, their capability is a lot less than it
10:14
Speaker 5: was two weeks ago, and with every week and every day,
10:18
Speaker 5: frankly gets less us.
10:20
Speaker 3: All I can tell you is they're begging to make
10:22
Speaker 3: a deal. So let's see what happened the president.
10:25
Speaker 1: They're reiterating that everything's on the table, and the President
10:29
Speaker 1: is watching closely. Jonathan Carl said that the President responded
10:33
Speaker 1: by describing a possible US RAN joint venture to help
10:37
Speaker 1: secure the straight as a quote unquote beautiful thing. So
10:41
Speaker 1: now we wait and we watch, and when things break,
10:45
Speaker 1: I promise you I will bring it all to you.
10:50
Speaker 1: There is a story that is really not getting attention
10:53
Speaker 1: and it should be, and that is the continued horrific
10:56
Speaker 1: crimes being committed right now by people that are in
11:00
Speaker 1: the United States of America illegally committing these horrific crimes
11:04
Speaker 1: that the media acts like, yeah, they really don't matter.
11:07
Speaker 1: Let me give you an example. Bill Malusian at Fox
11:10
Speaker 1: News put this out there. New Border Patrol caught and
11:15
Speaker 1: arrested not one, not two, not three, but four British
11:18
Speaker 1: nationals entering the US illegally in a remote part of
11:21
Speaker 1: Maine after crossing from Canada. Their names all from the
11:27
Speaker 1: Middle East. Ali Mohammad, Ali Abdullah Hamid, Mohammad Niji, Mohammad
11:33
Speaker 1: Sultan Sali, and Mohammad Khan. Now that's not all, And
11:38
Speaker 1: notice I mentioned that that's coming across the.
11:41
Speaker 3: What northern border. There was also this breaking.
11:45
Speaker 1: The Department of Owned Security confirms to Fox News that's
11:48
Speaker 1: the suspect charge with murdering an innocent gas station clerk
11:53
Speaker 1: in Fort Myers, Florida, caught on tape by bludgeoning her
11:57
Speaker 1: to death with a hammer is a Hayeshi, an illegal
12:00
Speaker 1: alien who was caught and released at the border by
12:04
Speaker 1: the Biden administration in twenty twenty two. To make matters worse,
12:09
Speaker 1: an immigration judge had actually ordered that individual be deported
12:13
Speaker 1: from the US later that same year, in twenty twenty two,
12:16
Speaker 1: but the Department of Owned Security says that the Biden
12:19
Speaker 1: administration deliberately shielded him from deportation by granting him temporary
12:25
Speaker 1: protected status, which expired two years later in twenty twenty four. Now,
12:31
Speaker 1: this Daylight hammer attack suspect is an illegal alien. He
12:36
Speaker 1: was released under the Biden policies and then protected by
12:40
Speaker 1: the Biden administration. Senator Cruz and I talked about this
12:44
Speaker 1: on our podcast We Do Verdict with Ted Cruz, and
12:47
Speaker 1: I want you to hear part of what he had
12:49
Speaker 1: to say. Senator, we want to talk about another issue
12:53
Speaker 1: that it needs to be back on the radar screen
12:56
Speaker 1: for a lot of Americans, and that is the continual
13:00
Speaker 1: crimes are being committed by illegal immigrants that are in
13:03
Speaker 1: this country. The media continues to overlook this. They don't
13:08
Speaker 1: want you to know that it's happening. But it's another
13:10
Speaker 1: example of why the President needs to be fighting so
13:12
Speaker 1: hard against these sanctuary cities that are harboring many of
13:16
Speaker 1: these criminals that are as he would describe them, really bad.
13:19
Speaker 3: Embrace Well.
13:21
Speaker 6: You may recall back in twenty twenty four the Republican
13:24
Speaker 6: National Convention when I spoke and addressed the convention, my
13:27
Speaker 6: remarks were focused on this topic and the theme of
13:31
Speaker 6: it was every damn day, every day, another American has raped,
13:37
Speaker 6: another American is assaulted, another American is murdered by a
13:41
Speaker 6: violent criminal illegal alien that Joe Biden and the Democrats
13:45
Speaker 6: have released. And I walk through the tragic cases of
13:48
Speaker 6: Joscelyn Nungary, the beautiful twelve year old girl raped and
13:51
Speaker 6: murdered here in Houston. I walked through Lake and Riley,
13:55
Speaker 6: the horrific murder of the young nursing student in Georgia.
13:59
Speaker 6: I walk through Rachel Morin, the mom of five, raped
14:03
Speaker 6: and murdered outside of Washington, d C. It was happening
14:07
Speaker 6: over and over and over again.
14:10
Speaker 3: That was one of the.
14:11
Speaker 6: Big reasons that the voters came out in overwhelming numbers,
14:14
Speaker 6: re elected President Trump, elected a Republican House, elected a
14:17
Speaker 6: Republican Senate. And we've seen immediate results. We've seen illegal
14:22
Speaker 6: border crossings drop more than ninety nine percent. The problem is,
14:27
Speaker 6: we have four years of open borders that we have
14:29
Speaker 6: to unwind.
14:30
Speaker 7: We have over.
14:30
Speaker 6: Twelve million illegal aliens that were allowed to flood into
14:34
Speaker 6: this country. And so just this week, the story broke
14:37
Speaker 6: that a gas station clerk, a mom in Fort Myers, Florida,
14:43
Speaker 6: was bludgeoned to death with a hammer. I mean, what
14:47
Speaker 6: a horrible way to go, beaten to death with a hammer.
14:50
Speaker 6: And who is it that committed this crime? A Haitian
14:54
Speaker 6: illegal alien who was caught and then released at the
14:58
Speaker 6: border by the Biden administration In tw two, an immigration
15:02
Speaker 6: judge ordered him deported. Robert Joshim is his name, but
15:08
Speaker 6: the Biden administration shielded him from deportation by granting him
15:15
Speaker 6: temporary protected status. So, in other words, what this person
15:20
Speaker 6: did he took a hammer the parking lot of a
15:22
Speaker 6: gas station. He walks at her with full strengths. He
15:26
Speaker 6: beats her on the head with a hammer. She falls
15:28
Speaker 6: down unconscious, and then he crushes her head with the
15:32
Speaker 6: hammer while she's unconscious six more times. Here's the statement
15:38
Speaker 6: of the Department Homeland Security put out quote. This illegal
15:42
Speaker 6: alien barbarically hit this woman in the head multiple times
15:47
Speaker 6: with a hammer. This heinous murderer was released into the
15:51
Speaker 6: country by the Bidad administration. Not only did the Bida
15:55
Speaker 6: administration release him into the country, but they gave him
15:58
Speaker 6: temporary protective status. Their reckless immigration policies cost this woman
16:07
Speaker 6: her life. This keeps happening over and over and over again.
16:15
Speaker 6: And what is amazing, Ben In spite of that, every
16:20
Speaker 6: Democrat in the Senate, when we have a vote, the
16:22
Speaker 6: Department I'm less Security is still shut down because they
16:25
Speaker 6: have decided they hate ICE so much, they hate border
16:28
Speaker 6: enforcement so much that it is the position of the
16:31
Speaker 6: Democrat party they are opposed. They want to defund ICE,
16:35
Speaker 6: which is the organizations that is charged with finding this
16:40
Speaker 6: vicious criminal arresting him and deporting him. They don't want
16:44
Speaker 6: him deported. They want this Haitian murderer in your community.
16:48
Speaker 6: They don't care if you happen to be the poor
16:52
Speaker 6: woman who's bludgeoned to death. Look, you know, Chris Murphy,
16:57
Speaker 6: the very liberal Democrat from Connecticut was on TV, and
17:02
Speaker 6: you know there's an old line that a gaff is
17:03
Speaker 6: when a politician actually accidentally tells the truth. He described
17:08
Speaker 6: he said, the people we care about the most, meaning
17:13
Speaker 6: we meaning Democrats, are illegal immigrants. That is what their
17:17
Speaker 6: party is. And it's infuriating. It keeps happening over and
17:21
Speaker 6: over and over again when you.
17:23
Speaker 1: Talk about it still being shut down, and this is
17:26
Speaker 1: I think one of the midterms are going to be
17:28
Speaker 1: a really important obviously, this should be one of the
17:31
Speaker 1: important issues of the midterms that Republicans need to remind
17:34
Speaker 1: if Democrats get back in charge, they've made it clear
17:37
Speaker 1: they will immediately open the borders wide up and they
17:40
Speaker 1: don't care who comes in.
17:42
Speaker 3: It's going to happen. Get ready for it.
17:43
Speaker 1: That is their form, that is their policy, and they
17:46
Speaker 1: will absolutely abolish ice if they can do it as well.
17:50
Speaker 6: And by the way, understand the risk is not just
17:53
Speaker 6: the murderers. It's not just the child molesters and the
17:57
Speaker 6: rapist and the gang bangers. It is also a very
18:00
Speaker 6: real risk of terrorism. We have seen in the last
18:02
Speaker 6: month four acts of terrorism by radical Islamic terrorists. And
18:06
Speaker 6: here's a story that broke this week. I'm just going
18:09
Speaker 6: to read a tweet from Bill Belushan, the fantastic reporter
18:13
Speaker 6: at Fox.
18:14
Speaker 3: Here's what he said.
18:14
Speaker 6: New border patrol caught and arrested four British nationals entering
18:19
Speaker 6: the US illegally in a remote part of Maine after
18:23
Speaker 6: crossing from Canada. Their names these are four British nationals.
18:30
Speaker 6: Ali Mohammad Ali Abdullah that's number one, Hamid Mohammed Nagi
18:37
Speaker 6: that's number two, Ibrahim Ayub Khan that's number three, and
18:43
Speaker 6: Mohammed Sultan Salai. And these are illegal immigrants that were
18:48
Speaker 6: sneaking into a remote wooded part of Maine. This is dangerous.
18:55
Speaker 6: Now you know what happened because President Trump is in
18:59
Speaker 6: office and border controls allowed to do their job. They
19:01
Speaker 6: were apprehended. They weren't just let in and they're apprehended.
19:05
Speaker 6: You know what, I guarantee you they will not be released.
19:08
Speaker 6: They won't be released into this country. If Joe Biden
19:10
Speaker 6: were president, those four people whose names I just released,
19:14
Speaker 6: they named that they'd be released, and we might be
19:17
Speaker 6: reading about them in another week or two. That pattern
19:22
Speaker 6: has played out over and over and over again. And
19:26
Speaker 6: by the way, it's not just illegal immigrants, it is
19:32
Speaker 6: criminals across the board. It is criminals across the board,
19:38
Speaker 6: such as for example, de Carlos Brown, who was this
19:45
Speaker 6: psychotic lunatic who murdered the beautiful Ukrainian woman in North Carolina.
19:54
Speaker 6: He was just ruled not competent to stand trial. And
20:00
Speaker 6: I don't doubt that the guy as crazy as a loon.
20:04
Speaker 6: But let's be clear, Democrats and Roy Cooper in particular,
20:08
Speaker 6: the Democrat governor released this psychopath murderer fourteen separate times fourteen.
20:19
Speaker 6: If you keep releasing violent criminals, and it actually helped
20:23
Speaker 6: me on this Ben play Devil's advocate for a minute.
20:27
Speaker 6: Try to get inside the mind of a Democrat. Why
20:29
Speaker 6: would they want to release violent criminals over and over again.
20:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, it doesn't make sense, and yet they continue to
20:37
Speaker 1: do it because for them, I really do think it's
20:39
Speaker 1: an issue of politics, right. They want to bring in
20:43
Speaker 1: a new voters. That's the simplest way I can put it.
20:46
Speaker 6: Well, it's not just new voters. Yes, for the illegals.
20:48
Speaker 6: But you look at this to Carlos Brown, he was
20:50
Speaker 6: not an illegal immigrant. He was just a psychopathic, lunatic American.
20:54
Speaker 6: But you know what Democrats also think, not only should
20:56
Speaker 6: he be released from jail, they think he ought to
20:59
Speaker 6: be a voter. He's perfectly fine to vote in US elections.
21:03
Speaker 6: And I guarantee you violent criminals vote overwhelmingly Democrat. And
21:08
Speaker 6: I guess that explains why the Democrats their priority is
21:11
Speaker 6: violent criminals and not American citizens.
21:15
Speaker 1: The easiest way I can describe this next story is well,
21:18
Speaker 1: at least it's a big start for the president of
21:21
Speaker 1: United States of America. He promised that he was going
21:24
Speaker 1: to go after waste, fraud, and abuse, and he was
21:27
Speaker 1: going to make sure the government was doing everything they
21:30
Speaker 1: could to make sure your tax dollars weren't being stolen. Well,
21:35
Speaker 1: now we're going to move to California, where officials there
21:38
Speaker 1: have just announced a major crackdown on healthcare fraud. They
21:42
Speaker 1: have dismantled what is being described as a massive two
21:46
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty seven million dollar hospice scam they're now
21:52
Speaker 1: calling the operation skip Trace. Authorities have also charged twenty
21:57
Speaker 1: one individuals in connection with this scheme.
22:01
Speaker 3: Several arrests have.
22:02
Speaker 1: Already been made, and many more are actually expected now.
22:05
Speaker 1: According to investigators, this was not a small time operation.
22:10
Speaker 1: It was a highly organized fraud ring that exploited California's
22:15
Speaker 1: medical system. That's the state's medicaid program. How do they
22:19
Speaker 1: do it? It's pretty simple. They were billing for hospice
22:23
Speaker 1: services that were never actually provided to anyone. In fact,
22:28
Speaker 1: officials say not a single legitimate hospice service was ever
22:32
Speaker 1: delivered to anyone, despite millions of dollars in claims and
22:37
Speaker 1: your tax dollars being stolen. The scheme worked with purchasing
22:42
Speaker 1: stolen personal information, in some cases from the dark web.
22:47
Speaker 1: Then they would use those identities to enroll fake patients
22:51
Speaker 1: into medical From there, the suspects used a network, as
22:55
Speaker 1: they described it at the press conference, of at least
22:59
Speaker 1: fourteen days, different hospice companies, often controlled by so called
23:04
Speaker 1: straw owners. They would then submit fraudulent claims and collect
23:09
Speaker 1: your tax dollars. Fox eleven, Los Angeles describing it this.
23:15
Speaker 8: Way, sometimes the people who need care the most end
23:19
Speaker 8: up in a system that needs watching too. State officials
23:22
Speaker 8: are now promising to continue their crackdown on hospice fraud.
23:26
Speaker 8: Investigation could raise bigger questions about trust, money and who
23:29
Speaker 8: profits at the end of life. The crackdowns now zeroing
23:32
Speaker 8: in a scheme has drained millions from Medical Fox eleven's
23:35
Speaker 8: Nick Garsias in downtown LA, where state leaders has stolen
23:38
Speaker 8: identities helped fuel this case.
23:43
Speaker 7: Mark fastine Well. Attorney General Rob Bonta was here today
23:46
Speaker 7: to announce Operation Skip Trace, which happened yesterday and targeted
23:50
Speaker 7: twenty one suspects across ten different locations right here in
23:54
Speaker 7: southern California. Those suspects accused of defrauding the state of
23:57
Speaker 7: two hundred and sixty seven millillion dollars, a massive takedown
24:03
Speaker 7: of a complex fraud ring which investigators say took advantage
24:07
Speaker 7: of state money intended for hospice care.
24:11
Speaker 9: This was a brazen, calculated criminal scheme that exploited the
24:16
Speaker 9: medical system, stole from the State of California and Medicaid,
24:20
Speaker 9: and prevented services and care from going to sick individuals
24:24
Speaker 9: who actually need it.
24:26
Speaker 7: The suspects defrauded the state two hundred and sixty seven
24:29
Speaker 7: million dollars by using stolen identities to enroll in hospice.
24:35
Speaker 7: Five have been arrested so far. State officials say they're
24:39
Speaker 7: increasing protections. We are using a faster and more secure
24:43
Speaker 7: online process, and we're adding stronger checks to prevent fake
24:47
Speaker 7: applications or stolen identities from getting into the system. This
24:51
Speaker 7: operation comes as the federal government has started to crack
24:55
Speaker 7: down on hospice fraud. US Attorney Bill A. Saley on
24:59
Speaker 7: Good Day LA Morning.
25:01
Speaker 4: Fraud hasn't always been a priority of the Department of Justice,
25:03
Speaker 4: particularly fraud against taxpayers. That is changing because when you
25:06
Speaker 4: defraud these programs, not only are fraudsters getting away with
25:10
Speaker 4: our money, it's taking money away from people really need it.
25:13
Speaker 7: But Attorney General Bonta says fraud has long been a
25:16
Speaker 7: priority for California's Department of Justice.
25:20
Speaker 9: Well, healthcare fraud might be President Trump's shiny new political
25:27
Speaker 9: talking point. California DOJ has been going after health care
25:31
Speaker 9: fraud since nineteen seventy nine.
25:35
Speaker 1: By the way, I love how Democrats in California, as
25:38
Speaker 1: you just heard there saying, well, we've been on top
25:40
Speaker 1: of this. How was this uncovered? It wasn't because of
25:43
Speaker 1: their work. It was because of undercover individuals, literally citizen
25:48
Speaker 1: journalists who started looking and exposing all of the fraud.
25:53
Speaker 1: And now California is wanting you to believe that they've
25:55
Speaker 1: been on top of the issue all along.
25:57
Speaker 3: It's just not the case.
25:59
Speaker 1: Nowlaw enforcement did execute search warrants across multiple locations in
26:03
Speaker 1: southern California. We now know they sees cash, they seize
26:07
Speaker 1: firearms and evidence tied to the operation. Prosecutors have hit
26:12
Speaker 1: the defendance with a range of serious charges, including healthcare
26:15
Speaker 1: fraud at any theft, conspiracy, and money laundering crimes that
26:19
Speaker 1: could carry significant prison time if they're convicted. By the way,
26:23
Speaker 1: to be clear, there's no indication that California is actually
26:26
Speaker 1: getting serious about really cracking down on this. They were
26:29
Speaker 1: shamed into doing their job.
26:32
Speaker 8: Now.
26:32
Speaker 1: The state officials, one that you just heard there says
26:35
Speaker 1: this case highlights a growing national problem. So they want
26:38
Speaker 1: you to believe that what you're witnessing in California is
26:41
Speaker 1: while happening where you live. And even if you're at
26:43
Speaker 1: a conservative state that cracks down on this stuff, they're
26:46
Speaker 1: telling you, no, no, there must be fraud there. We're
26:48
Speaker 1: not the only ones that have an issue. They also
26:52
Speaker 1: said they're sending a clear message those who exploit programs
26:56
Speaker 1: meant for the sick and vulnerable and still from taxpayers
26:59
Speaker 1: will be aggressively pursued and held accountable. Now, there's also
27:04
Speaker 1: no indication that California is actually ready to do that.
27:08
Speaker 1: So the California Attorney General Rob Banta and the Department
27:12
Speaker 1: of Health Services there, they're now saying that, like you
27:15
Speaker 1: should be thanking them for taking down the staggering two
27:18
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty seven million dollar health care fraud ring.
27:21
Speaker 1: The only reason why this happened is because you had
27:25
Speaker 1: conservatives online that publicly shamed them into doing their job.
27:31
Speaker 1: The operation, which involved twenty one suspects so far, fourteen
27:36
Speaker 1: fraudulent companies targeting the state's medical system by billing for
27:42
Speaker 1: hospice services that were never rendered to anyone. That is
27:46
Speaker 1: the story that everyone should be angry about. Yeah, they've
27:50
Speaker 1: been charged, but it wasn't like California was actually leading
27:53
Speaker 1: the way. What's also interesting about these twenty one suspects
27:57
Speaker 1: have been charged is the investment instigation has now hit
28:01
Speaker 1: into one hundred and thirty associated shell companies as well.
28:06
Speaker 1: Now it's unclear exactly how much to the two hundred
28:09
Speaker 1: and sixty seven million is defrauded funds and how much
28:12
Speaker 1: of it can actually be recovered. Manta noted that only
28:16
Speaker 1: about thirty million has been retrieved so far, so we're
28:19
Speaker 1: missing two hundred and thirty seven million. So when he
28:23
Speaker 1: says we're on top of it, ask yourself, if that's true,
28:25
Speaker 1: then where's the other two hundred and thirty plus million
28:28
Speaker 1: dollars that you promised?
28:30
Speaker 3: Now?
28:30
Speaker 1: LA good Day, that is one of the leading morning
28:33
Speaker 1: shows in LA. They went on the air and they
28:36
Speaker 1: explained it to their audience a little bit differently.
28:39
Speaker 3: Listen carefully.
28:40
Speaker 5: These are cracking down on what they call a massive
28:42
Speaker 5: healthcare fraud skiing right here in California.
28:45
Speaker 10: Eight people are now under arrest aques of running sham
28:49
Speaker 10: hospice operations that allegedly stole more than fifty million dollars
28:53
Speaker 10: from Medicare. The takedown, dubbed Operation Never Say Die, could
28:57
Speaker 10: signal a broader push to target fraud the region. Joining
29:01
Speaker 10: US now is US Attorney Bill a sale to break
29:03
Speaker 10: down the case, what it means for taxpayers also the
29:06
Speaker 10: integrity of our healthcare system.
29:08
Speaker 8: Thank you so much for.
29:09
Speaker 3: Being here this morning. Thanks for having This is a
29:11
Speaker 3: big operation. It is big.
29:13
Speaker 4: It was one of the first operations under the Vice
29:16
Speaker 4: President's new Task Force on Fraud. We did in coordination
29:19
Speaker 4: with the Vice President and of course doctor Oz who
29:22
Speaker 4: oversees Medicare program. And we're out there early and we
29:26
Speaker 4: took down We announced fifteen separate cases. We arrested eight people,
29:30
Speaker 4: and again almost sixty million dollars in fraud just in
29:33
Speaker 4: one day.
29:33
Speaker 3: So explain how.
29:34
Speaker 5: This hospice fraud worked. I mean, these little communities are
29:39
Speaker 5: sort of working together to try to try to scam
29:42
Speaker 5: the system.
29:42
Speaker 4: Yeah, a lot of these are repeat fraudsters. And what
29:45
Speaker 4: happens is they take advantage of vulnerabilities in our systems.
29:49
Speaker 4: So it starts with getting a hospice license through the
29:51
Speaker 4: state of California. And to be honest, California did not
29:54
Speaker 4: have good systems in place. They still don't for vetting
29:57
Speaker 4: and checking to make sure these are legitimate operators. Once
30:00
Speaker 4: they have that hospice license, they then have the ability
30:02
Speaker 4: to build Medicare and that's what they were doing. They
30:05
Speaker 4: were submitting fraudulent names or in some cases they are
30:08
Speaker 4: real people's names, but they weren't really in hospice.
30:10
Speaker 3: They were not dying.
30:12
Speaker 4: That's why the operation they die and billing millions and
30:15
Speaker 4: millions of dollars over a few years.
30:17
Speaker 3: Were these people getting kickbacks? Then some were, some weren't.
30:20
Speaker 4: Yes, And again on average they got about five or
30:23
Speaker 4: six thousand dollars per name per month, and then they
30:26
Speaker 4: would kick back maybe three hundred dollars to the patients themselves.
30:29
Speaker 4: But the fraudsters, of course, are always going to want
30:31
Speaker 4: to keep most of the money.
30:32
Speaker 10: How long had this been going on.
30:34
Speaker 3: This has been going on for years.
30:35
Speaker 4: We've really seen explosion uptake after COVID, there was a
30:39
Speaker 4: lot more money put into systems, put into PPP, and
30:42
Speaker 4: that's when I think fraudsters realize the amount of money
30:45
Speaker 4: that's available in these government accounts. But you know, the
30:48
Speaker 4: message you want to get across is fraud hasn't always
30:51
Speaker 4: been a priority of the Department of Justice, particularly fraud
30:53
Speaker 4: against taxpayers. That is changing because when you defraud these programs,
30:57
Speaker 4: not only are fraudsters getting away with our money, it's
31:00
Speaker 4: taking money away from people really need it. It's draining
31:02
Speaker 4: the healthcare system of important money that's needed for people
31:06
Speaker 4: who actually need it. And that's really the big message here.
31:10
Speaker 5: We do have the response from Governor Newsom and also
31:13
Speaker 5: ag rob Bonta responded to this. You guys been going
31:15
Speaker 5: kind of back and forth online, and part of it
31:18
Speaker 5: is what they're saying is that it's the federal government
31:20
Speaker 5: that oversees medicare, it's not us. They also are saying, look,
31:26
Speaker 5: we've been part of this partnership to crack down on
31:29
Speaker 5: this fraud in medicare. We've made huge strides in all
31:32
Speaker 5: of this.
31:33
Speaker 4: What do you have to say, Yeah, a couple things
31:34
Speaker 4: going on here. At number one, the federal government's basically
31:36
Speaker 4: the piggybank. It's the federal government provides most of the
31:39
Speaker 4: money that goes to these programs. However, they're administered by
31:42
Speaker 4: the states. It's the state of California that's responsible for hospice.
31:45
Speaker 4: California license every single hospice. They're supposed to be vetting
31:49
Speaker 4: and checking. And our criticism of the State of California
31:51
Speaker 4: is that they don't have sufficient measures in place to
31:54
Speaker 4: prevent and detect fraud. In the first instance, the money's
31:57
Speaker 4: going out the door, and then they're coming to us
31:59
Speaker 4: and say all this fraud occurred. Help us get the
32:01
Speaker 4: bad guys. We don't want to pay and chase. We
32:03
Speaker 4: want to stop the fraud from happening.
32:05
Speaker 5: And the first place that's kind interesting is that no
32:07
Speaker 5: one denies that this is taking place. So even though
32:11
Speaker 5: they're saying we're fighting at also everybody admits that this
32:16
Speaker 5: is a big deal.
32:17
Speaker 3: It's a massive deal.
32:18
Speaker 4: I think the state does dispute the extent how much
32:21
Speaker 4: it is. We think it's potentially in the hundreds of
32:23
Speaker 4: billions of dollars. But again, the focus has always been
32:27
Speaker 4: to push money out the door. I was in Sacramento,
32:29
Speaker 4: I was a legislator up there. They want to get
32:31
Speaker 4: as much money out the door as possible. That's how
32:33
Speaker 4: they measure success. We want to change that mindset. We
32:37
Speaker 4: want to focus on making sure that the fraudsters never
32:39
Speaker 4: get the money in the first place, so we're not
32:41
Speaker 4: having to chase them down, arrest them and try to
32:43
Speaker 4: recover money after the fact.
32:45
Speaker 10: Oh yeah, what happens to all that money now?
32:47
Speaker 4: Well, a lot of it gets spent, Honestly, a lot
32:49
Speaker 4: of it fraudsters.
32:50
Speaker 10: They are very luxury cars and homes.
32:52
Speaker 4: Hotels, vacations, bags. So we try to recover as much
32:57
Speaker 4: of it as we can. We will seize properties, we
32:58
Speaker 4: will seize cars, we will see these bank accounts, but frankly,
33:01
Speaker 4: a lot of it gets spent and a lot of
33:03
Speaker 4: these fraudsters are also tied to international organizations and the
33:07
Speaker 4: money goes out the countries.
33:08
Speaker 1: Let's just pause there, and I want you to just
33:10
Speaker 1: think about what you just heard there on the local
33:13
Speaker 1: Fox affiliate. And they're doing a better job on Good
33:17
Speaker 1: Day LA talking about this. They're also telling you the
33:21
Speaker 1: truth of the money's going overseas, and they're also telling
33:23
Speaker 1: you the truth that Democrats can say how they want
33:25
Speaker 1: to this is somehow a federal problem instead of a
33:28
Speaker 1: local problem, and the way that they described it, but
33:31
Speaker 1: they're also saying, like, let's be clear, they're the ones
33:34
Speaker 1: that are over all of this, and that clearly is
33:38
Speaker 1: part of the hypocrisy here. Democrats did not care that
33:46
Speaker 1: this fraud was taking place. They knew about it. There
33:50
Speaker 1: were people, multiple people that had alerted them of what
33:55
Speaker 1: they saw was clearly fraud, and they looked the other way.
34:01
Speaker 1: Why because they don't care if people are stealing from you,
34:04
Speaker 1: the taxpayer. They don't care what's happening here as long
34:09
Speaker 1: as they're getting a little bit of a kickback. We
34:11
Speaker 1: saw the kickbacks by the way Minnesota, where many of
34:14
Speaker 1: these fraud sers were giving political donations to you guessed it,
34:18
Speaker 1: the Democrats that were in charge at the local, state
34:22
Speaker 1: and the national level. Now this much fraud, there were
34:26
Speaker 1: massive signs. Everyone knew there were signs, and they didn't care.
34:33
Speaker 1: The question we should be asking now is why and
34:36
Speaker 1: what did they know? When do they know it? And
34:38
Speaker 1: how much are they hiding from all of us. Make
34:41
Speaker 1: sure you share this podcast please wherever you can on
34:45
Speaker 1: social media so others will hear it. Hit that subscriber
34:48
Speaker 1: auto download button, and I'll see you back here tomorrow.