In the midst of a massive taxpayer fraud investigation happening in Minnesota, California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom now finds himself knee deep in a massive scandal that has allegedly bilked Golden State taxpayers of billions.
And the public is finding out about it thanks to Dr. Oz.
Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, claims to have discovered proof of rampant health care fraud happening in California, after 42 hospices were discovered to be “operating” within just a four block radius.
In a now viral video posted Tuesday, Oz is seen pointing to medical buildings covered with Armenian writing and claiming they’re tied to a multibillion-dollar hospice and home-care fraud scheme.
“In this four block area in Los Angeles, there are 42 hospices,” Dr. Oz said, “So, either there are a lot of people dying here, or you got a fraudulent activity that is so good everyone wants to get in on it.”
Take a look at the footage courtesy of Dr. Oz —
🇺🇸Dr. Oz exposes $3.5 Billion Hospice Fraud Ring in Los Angeles Tied to Russian-Armenian Mafia
On the ground in Van Nuys, Los Angeles: in a single four-block radius, there are 42 hospices, many with Cyrillic signage, boarded up windows, and no visible patients or staff… pic.twitter.com/G6gEHX0XXm
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 28, 2026
Oz announced earlier this month that the Trump administration was cracking down on health care fraud in California, claiming a network run by Russian and Armenia gangs is working with doctors to obtain Medicare numbers and enroll patients into hospice.
“They’ve got 100,000 patients who they’ve tricked or paid to give them their beneficiary numbers so they can perpetuate the fraud and then the criminals are just running the whole organization and quickly scurrying away when law enforcement does get around to prosecute them,” Dr. Oz said.
In response to the now viral footage, Newsom dismissed claims of massive fraud. His office pointed to Newsom’s decision in 2022 to ban all new hospices as well as revoke more than 280 licenses to combat fraud in the state.
Newsom also bashed Oz’s video as a stunt saying Oz is cosplaying as a “fraud fighter,” and pushed back on Oz’s claims that Los Angeles County has become the “epicenter of health care fraud in America.”
“Amazing to watch Dr. Oz cosplay as a fraud fighter for an effort the STATE launched years ago — back when he was busy pitching ‘miracle’ horse supplements to insomniacs on late-night TV,” Newsom’s office said in a social media post Tuesday.
Amazing to watch Dr. Oz cosplay as a fraud fighter for an effort the STATE launched years ago — back when he was busy pitching “miracle” horse supplements to insomniacs on late-night TV.@CAGovernor Gavin Newsom BANNED all new hospices beginning in 2022 and revoked 280+… https://t.co/NzRFMCnr34
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) January 27, 2026
Newsom doubled down against Oz, announcing he is looking into reports that Oz (who is Turkish) was deliberately profiling Armenian-owned businesses.
“Our office is reviewing reports that Dr. Mehmet Oz targeted the Armenian American community in Southern California recently — making racially charged claims of fraud outside Armenian owned businesses, including a popular bakery,” Newsom’s press office wrote on X Wednesday morning.
Our office is reviewing reports that Dr. Mehmet Oz targeted the Armenian American community in Southern California recently — making racially charged claims of fraud outside Armenian-owned businesses, including a popular bakery.
Given the historic sensitivities involved, we are…
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) January 28, 2026
Since Dr. Oz’s initial announcement regarding health care fraud on Jan 9, he has not revealed any new or specific cases that have come from the investigation – only referring to fraud cases that have already been tried.
Dr. Oz said fraudsters are cheating taxpayers out of nearly $3.5 billion in Hospice and Home Care fraud schemes, and vowed the Trump administration “is not going to tolerate this anymore.”