Hamadeh Joins GOP Push For Arrests Over $250M Medicaid Fraud Scandal In Ohio

Hamadeh Joins GOP Push For Arrests Over $250M Medicaid Fraud Scandal In Ohio

By Ethan Faverino |

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) held a fraud roundtable last week, led by Representative Brandon Gill (TX-26), calling for aggressive action and criminal prosecutions in response to a major Medicaid fraud scheme in Ohio uncovered by investigative reporting.

The event follows a Daily Wire investigation by reporter Luke Rosiak, which revealed how convicted felons and foreign nationals established 288 shell companies to fraudulently bill taxpayers for home health services that were never even provided.

The scheme defrauded Ohio’s Medicaid program of approximately $250 million. One single building in Columbus reportedly housed 94 fake companies that billed out $66 million.

Rosiak exposed the operation in about two months by analyzing publicly available data that state Medicaid officials had allegedly overlooked for four years.

Rep. Gill, who chairs the newly formed House Oversight Committee Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, announced that the task force will launch a formal investigation equipped with subpoena power to pursue accountability and issue criminal referrals.

“Whenever you bring in infinity third worlders into American society from low trust countries, you kind of expect low trust behavior, and that’s what we’ve seen here,” stated Gill.  “The American people want to know that their tax dollars are actually being used for the American people, not for foreigners, not for fraudsters. Our job is to stop it, to get the bad guys in jail by issuing criminal referrals.”

The roundtable aligns with broader Republican efforts to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in federal healthcare programs. These initiatives build upon the White House Fraud Task Force established by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, which has already deferred billions in Medicaid reimbursements from non-compliant states and imposed a hold on new hospice and home health care licenses until integrity requirements are met.

RSC Vice Chair Ben Cline (VA-06) emphasized the impact on legitimate beneficiaries: “Fraud is not a victimless crime. Fraudsters steal money from innocent people who are meant to benefit from these programs, Medicare, Medicaid, home health. One of the main weapons that we have is transparency.”

Additional remarks from members in attendance included:

  • Rep. Michael Cloud (TX-27): “It’s unfortunate when people come to this country, have no intent in helping build this country, but are just simply here to defraud the American citizens who are here and working to build this country. The waste, fraud, and abuse is turned into a money laundering scheme for leftist organizations.”
  • Rep. Laurel Lee (FL-15): “We are not providing federal funding for the purpose of subsidizing negligence, incompetence, or corruption. Every dollar that is stolen is $1 that is no longer available for vulnerable Americans who actually need these services.”
  • Rep. Tim Burchett (TN-02): “We found over a trillion dollars in duplication and increased bureaucracy. Every time the Democrats holler and say, ‘Oh, you’re cutting this program,’ you’re damn right. We’re cutting the waste, abuse, and fraud.”
  • Rep. Mike Kennedy (UT-03): “This criminal behavior is enriching filthy individuals who deserve to be in jail. If there are doctors on the tape, they should do the perp walk and go to jail. Their license should be taken and never returned.”
  • Rep. Abe Hamadeh (AZ-08): “This is not just going to be hearings after hearings. It’s going to be arrests and prosecutions. We have to end this now. What we’re uncovering is criminals.”

Republicans characterized the Ohio Medicaid scam as a stark example of systemic vulnerabilities in federal healthcare programs that deflect critical resources away from the people who depend on these services.

The roundtable highlighted the GOP’s commitment to greater transparency, aggressive enforcement, and criminal prosecutions to protect taxpayer dollars and restore integrity to these programs.

Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.

Alleged Voter Fraud Discovered In Arizona, Seven Other States

Alleged Voter Fraud Discovered In Arizona, Seven Other States

By Staff Reporter |

Evidence of voter fraud has been discovered in Arizona and seven other states, allegedly.

The secretary of state of Ohio, Frank LaRose, announced Tuesday he had discovered and submitted evidence of voter fraud in Arizona as well as Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

The alleged voter fraud consisted of noncitizen voter registration and double votes. LaRose discovered the alleged voter fraud during reviews of the Ohio Voter Registration Database by their Public Integrity Division. 

The reviews yielded evidence indicating 11 individuals voted in the seven states and Washington, D.C.

LaRose passed along the findings to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, along with the attorneys general of the other affected states and Washington, D.C. 

“We must send a clear message that election fraud won’t be tolerated,” said LaRose. “Through the investigations of our Public Integrity Division’s Election Integrity Unit, we are rooting out lawbreakers so we can bring accountability and justice.”

In a press release, LaRose reminded voters that every single vote counted. 

“Critics of Ohio’s election integrity efforts may try to minimize the significance of these referrals, as though some small amount of election crime is acceptable,” stated LaRose in a letter to Ohio Attorney General Yost. “Even one illegal vote can spoil the outcome of an election for the citizenry at large, whether it be a school levy, majority control of a legislative chamber, or even a statewide election contest.”

During her campaign for attorney general, Mayes dismissed claims of widespread voter fraud occurring in Arizona. 

“Know what has been debunked repeatedly? Any indication of widespread, systemic voter fraud,” posted Mayes on X during her campaign run in 2022. “Many of us find the continuation of lies about that ‘truly appalling.’”

Mayes was declared the winner of the 2022 attorney general race, despite questions remaining of over 9,000 uncounted provisional ballots and their potential effect on her slim margin of victory over now-Congressman Abe Hamadeh. Mayes’ already-slim lead of over 500 votes dropped to under 300 after uncounted votes were discovered in Pinal County during a recount. 

As of this report, Mayes hasn’t indicated whether she will act on the referral to her office for investigation or prosecution. 

Mayes’ focus on election-related prosecution has largely concerned securing criminal convictions for President Donald Trump’s 2020 electors — a group she refers to as the “fake electors.” All of Mayes’ efforts to coordinate a plan of prosecution (with the help of a Washington, D.C. advocacy organization) and secure the indictments were for naught. 

Late last month, the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled that Mayes must redo her entire case against the electors, citing her failure to instruct the grand jury on applicable provisions of the Electoral Count Act of 1887. 

More recently, Mayes unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Cochise County from carrying out its plans for a new jail district election. The election was deemed necessary in court due to the 2023 election on the issue being invalid — nearly 11,000 eligible voters were left without ballots. Mayes pushed in court to have the county abide by the results of the flawed 2023 election.

AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.

How Leftists Hide Sex Changes In Abortion Bills

How Leftists Hide Sex Changes In Abortion Bills

By Cathi Herrod |

What does abortion have to do with the transgender movement? Nothing. But leftist activists are trying to convince us that abortion includes so-called “gender-affirming care.” Planned Parenthood and others have been pushing the message over social media and elsewhere in an effort to get people used to the idea. Why? One reason is that Planned Parenthood admits it is the second largest provider of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in the country. Read their own documentation here. And read these two reports that reveal the lucrative connection between the abortion giant and the transgender movement.

But it is also building their culture of death and destruction. I’m not saying they all see it that way, but pushing for abortion up to birth and the physical and psychological destruction of teens and even pre-teens in the name of “equality” is evil.

Polls show a large percentage of Americans do not support transitioning children with hormones or surgeries. So, leftists are hiding it in ballot measures and writing it into laws. In Ohio (potentially on the 2023 ballot) and Michigan (passed in 2022), the abortion ballot measures are so deceitfully written, it takes an attorney to figure out that both measures would allow abortion up to birth and include sex changes for children without parental consent. Read them here and here.

I will use italics below to indicate the language they use to underhandedly include sex changes, even for minors.

Ohio’s measure uses the term individual to covertly include children, and “reproductive decisions… not limited to … abortion” to covertly include sex-changes. If this was an abortion measure, it would just say that, and it wouldn’t include this kind of language that other states are defining as so-called “gender-affirming care” and courts will look to for direction.

Michigan’s constitutional amendment calls reproductive freedom a right and includes sterilization but is not limited to abortion. It, too, uses the term individual instead of woman or adult to ensure even children can get abortions or sex changes without parental consent.

Ohio’s and Michigan’s measures read a bit like Oregon’s proposed law and Colorado’s recently signed laws. Read here and here to see how the news media are using the Left’s language, and how the definition of reproductive freedom/decisions are being defined to include so-called “gender-affirming care.”

In very progressive states like New York, the abortion industry can get away with spelling it out in plain language, “… rights to an individual based on their ‘pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” It includes ethnicity, disability, age, and sex, including sexual orientationgender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” The key words here say it all and will be used to set a standard for defining “reproductive healthcare/freedom” or “reproductive decision” throughout the country.

Maryland, same thing. The measure uses “reproductive freedom” instead of abortion, not just to make it sound better to voters, but so they can include sex changes. It calls “reproductive freedom” a fundamental right and says that right includes ending a pregnancy but is not limited to abortion. It goes on to ensure individuals (not just adults) have a right to reproductive liberty. So, although Maryland didn’t write it out as blatantly as New York, the language it did use allows the same thing: abortion to birth and sex changes, even for children.

Also, in states that are moderate or conservative, the abortion industry includes a limitation to abortion, but then takes it all back with near universal exemptions. More on that below.

  • So, when you see “reproductive healthcare/freedom/liberty,” “autonomy,” “reproductive decisions,” or “not limited to…” think sex-change drugs and surgeries. Because that’s how the courts will read it.
  • If the language uses “individual” or “person,” think no age limit; it includes children at any age for both abortion and sex changes.
  • If the abortion language sets a limit at viability or some other gestational age, check the exceptions! These ballot measures include exceptions for the “health of the mother.” Courts have interpreted that phrase to include emotional or mental health, and thereby allow abortions at any stage if the woman simply feels distressed. This has always been understood to mean no limits up to birth if the woman wants it, and the abortionist (self-servingly) signs off.

It’s there, but it takes a skilled attorney to connect the dots. The abortion industry knows most Americans do not support sex-change surgeries in state law, especially for children. And most Americans also do not support abortion up to birth. The industry knows these facts—that is exactly why they use crafty language to hide such extreme policies under vague wording and then redefine that language elsewhere.

One more thing: They will always cloak the measure in the nicest title:

  • “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety”
  • “Equal Protection of Law Amendment”
  • “Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment”

Cathi Herrod is the president of Center for Arizona Policy (CAP), a nonprofit advocacy organization committed to promoting and defending the foundational principles of life, marriage and family, and religious freedom.