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By JAIMIE DING and ALI SWENSON
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s workplace is demanding a civil rights investigation of Dr. Mehmet Oz, saying he discriminated in opposition to Armenians in a video claiming hospice fraud within the Los Angeles neighborhood of Van Nuys, the most recent entrance within the state’s ongoing battle with the Trump administration.
The Democratic governor’s criticism, filed Thursday, got here after Oz posted a video on social media in entrance of an Armenian bakery at Victory Boulevard and Mammoth Avenue in Van Nuys, alleging that roughly $3.5 billion in hospice and residential care fraud has taken place within the metropolis of Los Angeles and “fairly a little bit of it” was run by “the Russian Armenian mafia.” Oz is the administrator for the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies, which certifies hospice suppliers to just accept sufferers on government-subsidized medical insurance.
Newsom’s workplace argued within the criticism that Oz “spewed baseless and racially charged allegations” that risked chilling participation in hospice and residential care applications among the many neighborhood focused. His workplace stated the claims had “already brought on real-world hurt” by dampening enterprise at an Armenian bakery that’s proven within the video.
“Mafia? There isn’t a Armenian mafia happening right here. We’re simply hardworking enterprise homeowners. I don’t perceive why he’s mentioning simply Armenians,” Movses Bislamyan, whose family-owned bakery seems in Oz’s video, advised KABC-TV.
Oz in a publish on X accused Newsom of attempting to alter the topic and failing to speak about Medicare fraud, although Medicare is a federally administered program.
“The issue isn’t remoted to California, although so far as our crew can inform, it’s the worst,” Oz stated. He hasn’t shared particulars in regards to the fraud being alleged.
A part of effort to spotlight fraud
Oz’s video additionally factors to a bigger Trump administration effort to highlight fraud across the nation. That effort comes after allegations of fraud involving day care facilities run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted a large immigration crackdown within the Midwestern metropolis, leading to widespread protests.
L.A. County has develop into an epicenter for well being care fraud in America. Criminals have corrupted the system a lot that fraud is now nearly anticipated. President Trump has made it clear: we won’t tolerate the affected person hurt or taxpayer funded theft any longer. Extra to return. pic.twitter.com/JOp8ltimq8
— DrOzCMS (@DrOzCMS) January 27, 2026
Earlier within the week, Newsom acknowledged fraud in hospice care in California however stated the state has been working for years to crack down on it. He famous he signed a regulation in 2021 to cease offering new hospice licenses over fraud issues and stated the state has revoked greater than 280 hospice licenses in recent times. One other 300 hospices are being examined for doable fraud, Newsom’s workplace stated. The state didn’t instantly present an inventory of all companies which have had their licenses revoked.
“We’ve recognized and cracked down on hospice fraud for years, taking actual motion to guard sufferers and taxpayers,” Newsom stated in an announcement.
Oz’s video exhibits him visiting the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles and pointing to a four-block radius that he says is residence to 42 hospices, suggesting potential fraud. He references a enterprise that he says was a part of a $16 million fraud scheme. Oz describes the Armenian script on the companies’ indicators whereas the digital camera pans to the bakery.
“You discover the lettering and language behind me is of that dialect,” says Oz, whose mother and father emigrated to the U.S. from Turkey. He additionally claims there “has not been a number of consideration on these issues” in California.
Armenian-American chief criticizes Oz
Aram Hamparian, government director of the Armenian Nationwide Committee of America, stated Oz’s feedback invoke “straightforward stereotypes” in regards to the Armenian neighborhood, which has deep roots in California.
Greater than 200,000 folks of Armenian descent are estimated to dwell in Los Angeles County, the place April is widely known as Armenian Historical past Month. A small part of Los Angeles is named Little Armenia, and the suburban metropolis of Glendale, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the place Oz recorded the video, is a middle of the neighborhood.
Hamparian stated Oz’s connections to Turkey are regarding. That nation’s authorities doesn’t acknowledge the killing and deportation of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces within the early 1900s, referred to as the Armenian genocide.
“Issues have been handled on the state stage, prosecutions have been made,” Hamparian stated. “However Dr. Oz is taking this in a wholly harmful route by scapegoating, by fear-mongering, by staging the theatric collective indictment of all Armenians.”
Turkey and Armenia have lengthy been strained by historic grievances and Turkey’s alliance with Azerbaijan. The neighboring international locations haven’t any formal diplomatic ties, and their joint border has remained closed because the Nineties, although late final 12 months they agreed to simplify visa procedures in an effort to normalize ties.
The feud is amongst many who have sprung up between Newsom, seen as a possible Democratic presidential candidate for 2028, and the Republican administration of President Donald Trump. Newsom and Trump have clashed over points starting from the federal administration’s Nationwide Guard deployment in Los Angeles to the president’s efforts to dam California’s 2035 ban on new gas-powered vehicles, a nationwide first.
Swenson reported from New York. Related Press reporter Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this story. Day by day Information digital producer Steven Rosenberg contributed to this story.
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