Trump administration officials announced a "war against fraud" in Medicaid and other government services, partnering with Ohio to tackle the issue in the Buckeye State.
Multiple federal leaders came to central Ohio Thursday to discuss anti-fraud efforts at the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, including acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Blanche and other officials announced several indictments and other actions targeting several alleged cases of fraud in Ohio. That included 14 people who were charged in schemes to defraud Ohio agencies and various other cases costing millions of dollars. These spanned Medicaid providers, behavioral health services for autistic people and a romance fraud scheme.
For example, officials said four people were charged in the Southern District of Ohio in connection with a behavioral health fraud scam that netted more than $30 million. All these new cases together cost taxpayers an estimated $50 million.
Blanche said Ohio is facing some of the most significant fraud schemes in the country, but that people shouldn't attack one particular state for fraud. But, Blanche and other officials pointedly criticized Democratic controlled states like Hawaii and Minnesota.
"Compliance was so lax or nonexistence that you could literally just steal millions and millions of dollars with nobody even checking, with nobody even investigating," Blanche said.
Blanche said this partnership with Ohio will help discourage fraud.
"It was unchecked, the money was unlimited, and you could go, like you heard, you can go and buy houses, buy cars, and so that's what we're stopping," Blanche said.
Alongside the indictments, officials made several other announcements. The Small Business Administration announced it is cracking down on the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler called the PPP program one of the most "defrauded federal programs in American history." Actions included suspending over half a million PPP borrowers, including targeting 140,000 borrowers today in California, Minnesota and Maine.
Loeffler blamed former President Joe Biden for not providing oversight, but the program was created by Trump through the CARES Act.
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson announced his agency decertified Hawaii's Medicaid fraud control unit, an agency meant to tackle the issue the officials Thursday said they were trying to address. Ferguson alleged Hawaii's agency from 2021 to 2025 did not produce a single conviction or obtain a single indictment of a fraudster from 2021 to 2026 despite funding and enrollment increasing substantially.
Ferguson lauded Ohio's Medicaid control unit as "the gold standard."
Oz, who helps run the national Medicaid program, told reporters Ohio's Medicaid office will be suspending 49 home health care providers who have been identified as high risk to the Medicaid program.
These people have built millions of dollars to take advantage of our most vulnerable," Oz said. "No more champagne on private jets for these people, no more new cars, no more luxury endeavors and vacations. It's done."
Oz said one road in Columbus is suspect because of the sheer amount of home healthcare centers, without specifying which road.
"There's a road very close to where we are, 288 home health-care facilities in that several block area on that one road. Again, it defies belief. Some of these buildings were vacant. You wouldn't put anybody up in those buildings, not certainly the place that would house home healthcare," Oz said.
Oz then attacked Somalian, Nepalese and Bhutanese immigrant populations for thinking fraud is okay in the United States. Conservative bloggers have targeted Somali American businesses in Columbus without evidence, claiming these immigrants are misusing taxpayer dollars.
During the press conference, the FBI also announced the creation of its “Top 10 Most Wanted Fraudsters” initiative, which publicly identifies fugitives accused of fraud. The presented list only included eight people.
Republicans have said changes must be made to the system as it is to halt hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid fraud. This follows a report from a conservative national outlet of widespread fraud among home health providers in Ohio, though the state hasn’t fully confirmed or offered details.
Republicans have controlled state government since 2011. Legislative leaders have blamed DeWine and his former Medicaid director Maureen Corcoran for not doing more to halt fraud.
DeWine has proposed and exacted some changes to combat this, including freezing some suspect payments pending state and federal government investigations.
Vice President and Ohio native JD Vance was supposed to attend, but stayed in Washington because of votes in the U.S. Senate where Vance acts as a tiebreaker.
Multiple state elected officials were present including Attorney General Dave Yost, his soon-to-be replacement Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson, House Speaker Matt Huffman, Auditor Keith Faber, Treasurer Robert Sprague and Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
Yost thanked the federal officials for their efforts and said he has never seen such interest from the federal government to fight fraud.
"It's been a sometimes lonely fight against fraud, but it's no longer a lonely fight. And what's the difference? President Trump, Vice President Vance, and this team that you see arrayed here today," Yost said.
Gov. Mike DeWine was not present. He has faced criticism from Republicans in Ohio for allowing fraud to take place.
The press conference came shortly after Trump announced he would nominate Blanche to be the next Attorney General after former AG Pam Bondi's resignation. Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Trump who has led the U.S. Department of Justice in the interim, said he is honored and humbled by Trump's decision.
"I think the work that this department has been doing since President Trump took office, if you look at any stat across the board, it's much better. We're much safer. Our communities are better off," Blanche said.
Blanche will face hearings and a vote before the U.S. Senate before he officially takes the role.
