Joseph Hernandez, the Republican and Conservative nominee for New York State Comptroller, on July 20 criticized incumbent Tom DiNapoli after a campaign release said federal Medicaid administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz alleged that organized crime syndicates have been exploiting New York’s Medicaid program.
The Hernandez campaign referenced allegations that Chinese-run networks used fake pharmacies, fraudulent bills, unnecessary treatments and services never received to bill Medicaid, which the release described as a $110 billion program in New York. The release said Dr. Oz estimated the schemes generated roughly $2.1 billion in Medicaid spending and pointed to clusters of social adult day care centers and pharmacies in Flushing, Queens.
In the release Hernandez argued that the comptroller — who has held the office for nearly two decades — had not done enough to prevent fraud and proposed creating a “Fraud Strike Team” if elected. According to the campaign, the team would include forensic accountants, auditors, data analysts and former prosecutors and use advanced analytics and real-time auditing to flag suspicious billing, freeze questionable payments, coordinate with law enforcement and refer cases for prosecution.
Hernandez is quoted in the release saying the office should “follow every dollar, shut down fraudulent operations, recover stolen funds, and work with law enforcement to put these criminals behind bars.”
The campaign release served as the source of the claims and proposals; it did not include a response from Comptroller DiNapoli or an independent source document from federal authorities. The release provides no direct link to the federal statement it attributes to Dr. Mehmet Oz.
This item is published as a campaign-provided news release; the allegations and figures are attributed to the Hernandez campaign and to the statement the campaign says was made by Dr. Mehmet Oz.
