A top federal prosecutor in Southern California told Fox News that the state has transformed into a ‘fraudster’s paradise,’ accusing state leaders of allowing millions of dollars in fraud. First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli highlighted a string of federal busts, including a $45 million Medicare Botox scam.

Fraud in California

Essayli said new leadership at the Justice Department is ‘laser-focused’ on going after those committing fraud and saving the American people money. He discussed cases in his district, including what the FBI in Los Angeles called the ‘largest Botox fraud scheme in the United States.’ Violetta Mailyan, a doctor in California, was convicted in a $45 million scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting claims for Botox injections that either were not given or were unnecessary.

Essayli argued that the way California hands out medical licenses is helping to fuel fraud, questioning whether it’s ‘incompetence or corruption’ behind it and adding that state politicians ‘really don’t care’ because it’s federal money being used. ‘A lot of this is just like reckless, massive incompetence and negligence to hand out this many licenses without vetting or checking that these are legitimate medical providers,’ he said.

Task Force to Eliminate Fraud

In March, President Donald Trump chose Vice President JD Vance to lead the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Since then, the White House says it has identified several major fraud rings involving hospice care and childcare facilities. In May, Vance, alongside Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, announced the administration would defer $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California due to oversight concerns.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.