FIRST ON FOX: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz is taking Americans inside the Trump administration's war on healthcare fraud in a new documentary highlighting massive Medicare schemes, suspected hospice scams and allegations of organized crime involvement.
The 27-minute film, "War on Fraud," first obtained by Fox News Digital, follows Oz across the country as he spotlights alleged fraud schemes targeting taxpayer-funded health care programs and details the administration's efforts to crack down on those responsible.
"All these programs come back to one basic issue: Fraudsters and criminals don’t give a s--- about you. They want your money, and they will walk all over your health, sacrifice your life and betray society’s trust to get your hard-earned money," said Oz in the video.
The documentary follows Oz across the country as he investigates suspected fraud involving Medicare, Medicaid, hospice care and other programs, with appearances from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Deputy Administrator Kim Brandt.
Fox News Digital accompanied Oz Tuesday as he confronted workers at New York City senior day care centers suspected of questionable Medicaid billing practices during a sweeping federal fraud investigation.
More than 80 New York City providers received warning letters from CMS over questionable billing practices as part of a broader operation involving the FBI, HHS-OIG, NYPD and other agencies.
"FBI New York, along with multiple other law enforcement agencies are conducting law enforcement activity in the area of Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn and other locations around New York City in connection with ongoing federal investigations," an FBI spokesperson said of the crackdown.
Oz flagged what he described as a series of irregularities, including low attendance despite high Medicaid billing, questionable wheelchair transportation charges, seniors entering without signing in, inconsistent attendance claims and sign-in sheets containing future-dated entries.
The crackdown comes as CMS is pulling back the curtain on its broader war on fraud, releasing a new documentary that takes viewers inside the agency’s efforts to track down schemes siphoning taxpayer dollars from America’s healthcare programs.
In one segment of the film, Oz highlights hospice care as a hotbed for potential fraud, pointing to the Los Angeles area, where he says roughly 2,000 hospice providers operate, a concentration he argues has raised serious concerns about fraudulent billing.
Oz claims in the documentary that Russian organized crime groups are involved in some suspected hospice fraud operations, alleging that unsuspecting patients are being enrolled in hospice care under false pretenses.
He claims the schemes involve falsely declaring patients terminally ill and misleading them into enrolling in hospice care, potentially limiting their access to treatment for conditions classified as terminal while allowing fraudulent operators to bill Medicare for services under false pretenses.
Minnesota has become a major focus of the Trump administration's broader crackdown on government benefits fraud following a series of high-profile scandals involving taxpayer-funded programs.
Oz said Minnesota's $250 million "Feeding Our Future" scandal helped intensify the administration's focus on large-scale fraud, pointing to a case that erupted into the national spotlight in 2022 and has since produced a wave of federal convictions.
The White House Task Force on Fraud, led by Vice President JD Vance, has joined Oz in a media blitz highlighting alleged scams as the administration ramps up its crackdown on corruption in taxpayer-funded programs.
The documentary highlights one of the largest alleged Medicare fraud schemes in U.S. history, involving $3.7 billion in fraudulent billing claims tied to medical equipment companies operating in Delray Beach, Florida, according to federal prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors allege the scheme involved billing for medical equipment patients never requested or needed, and the accused ringleader fled the U.S. before being captured in Turkey and returned to South Florida to face federal charges.
The documentary also shows Oz during an earlier visit to Flushing, Queens, where he describes a cluster of businesses — including a social adult daycare center, pharmacy and medical center — as a "clubhouse for crooks," alleging the businesses are part of a fraudulent billing operation.
Oz says they recruit seniors, get them in, game the system and they use their ID numbers to charge everybody, "which means they are charging you."
LeBron James played spoiler against the New York Knicks on their championship banner night in his first game of his unprecedented 24th NBA season, but not before getting into a war of words with a fan.
Late in the second quarter, Jalen Brunson was shooting free throws as the brand-new Philadelphia 76ers star got heated with someone sitting near the sidelines.
It's not clear what provoked James to get angry, but it seems like it had to do with where he's from and/or previously lived.
"Ain't nothing soft in the Midwest, I don't know what the f--- you talking about," James, an Akron, Ohio, native said.
The conversation took a turn when James, who just got finished playing eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, mentioned what is now his former home.
"I'm not from the west coast, I'm from Ohio baby. I'm not a midwest kid - I'm an Ohio baby. F--- is you talking about?"
The NBC broadcast, via the New York Post, said that the exchange came as fans were taunting James over his helicopter use, which has become rather controversial. James’ brand deal with Fanatics includes use of the company’s corporate aviation, and he has been using it to commute from his new home in New York to Philadelphia for practices.
James recently said it was "just another way of transportation."
During an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made clear that there was no reason to be concerned about either the arrangement between James and Fanatics or potential salary-cap circumvention.
"He has a deal with Fanatics," Silver said just hours before the Detroit Pistons rallied for a comeback win over the Boston Celtics to tip off the new season. " . . . Part of his deal is they're going to supply a helicopter to him as long as it's just a deal between the Fanatics and LeBron and no team is involved; there's no rules issue there whatsoever."
Naturally, James' first game of the season was at Madison Square Garden, so he had a much shorter commute.
After signing with the Sixers in free agency, James decided his primary residence would be in the country's largest city. He is not the first NBA player to do so while playing for Philadelphia. Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick also lived in New York during his two seasons with the Sixers. But James’ decision to make the routine trip by helicopter has drawn particular attention.
A progressive congressional candidate backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank on Wednesday morning.
Brad Lander, a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), scored an upset primary victory this year against Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y. But he was far from the New York City-area district this week, posting on X that he and others were being held by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while on a trip to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives in disputed territory.
"I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know," Lander posted on X.
Lander is one of several anti-establishment candidates who Mamdani backed in New York City Democratic primaries this year. And he's not the first to get into a dust-up with law enforcement, either.
Socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who defeated Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., in their primary race, said she was knocked to the ground by NYPD officers during a protest against federal immigration authorities shooting an illegal immigrant in the Bronx this month.
The group he was with in the West Bank, Rabbis for Peace, posted a photo of Lander and said he was detained "by Israeli police for standing with Palestinians during the olive harvest" along with others.
"The Palestinians whose land this is have a right to harvest it in peace," Lander, who is Jewish, said in a video posted by the group.
It's not clear if Lander has been released or what the terms of his detention are. Fox News Digital reached out to his campaign and to Mamdani's office for comment.
New York's 10th Congressional District is overwhelmingly Democratic, meaning he is all but assured to win his general election and come to Congress next year.
Instead of quietly eating the reprint bill, the Knicks posted the evidence and let the internet have its way with them. Then again, misprints make fortunes in coin collecting. Maybe MSG didn't blow the giveaway so much as hand 20,000 fans a collector's item.
For good measure, they also hung their NBA Cup banner to crowd the rafters.
When that 2025-26 banner finally joins 1970 and 1973 to mark the franchise's third championship, it officially closes a miserable half-century drought, cementing this team into New York sports immortality.
Keeping that crown will be a nightmare. The East got a lot meaner over the summer, headlined by LeBron James taking his talents to Philadelphia. LeBron hunting one last ring with the Sixers feels cooked up specifically to ruin New York's party.
For now, the Knicks are on top of the basketball world.
FLUSHING, N.Y. — Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz confronted employees at two New York City senior care centers over suspected Medicaid fraud, challenging their billing practices as Fox News Digital got an exclusive look at the crackdown in action.
Oz, accompanied by senior federal health officials, delivered warning letters to Kent Senior Care and Evergreen Adult Day Care in Flushing, Queens, during a broader fraud crackdown that involved the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the NYPD and other agencies.
The letters notified the facilities that their billing practices had raised concerns among federal authorities. The two visits by Oz were part of a broader crackdown in which CMS officials conducted more than 80 visits and delivered warning letters to providers across New York City on Tuesday.
Fox News Digital accompanied Oz as he pressed employees about questionable billing records and challenged their explanations for how taxpayer dollars were being spent.
"The whole experience was suspicious," Oz told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview following the visits.
Oz said federal authorities were conducting a broader crackdown that included arrests, search warrants and efforts to stop certain operators from billing Medicaid, although Fox News Digital did not independently witness those enforcement actions at either Queens facility.
Kent Senior Care declined comment during a phone call with Fox News Digital on Tuesday. Evergreen Adult Day Care did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Oz questions senior center director: 'We don't believe you'
The first stop came around 8:30 a.m. at Kent Senior Care, where Oz entered the facility and personally handed its director a letter from the federal government notifying the business that its billing practices were under scrutiny.
"The bills are much higher than they should be," Oz told the director. "The billing is for more people. It doesn't look very crowded here."
The director pushed back during the exchange, explaining that it was still early and additional seniors would arrive later in the morning, as Oz questioned whether the facility's Medicaid billing records accurately reflected its actual attendance.
The occupancy of the space was 70 persons, according to an observe posted maximum occupancy sign on the wall.
"The bills we're getting are as though it's completely full all the time," Oz said.
The director maintained that the facility billed only for seniors who actually attended, and that it required participants to sign attendance sheets.
"You're getting this letter from the U.S. Government because we don't believe you," he told the director.
During the exchange, Oz also questioned why the center's billing records appeared to reflect seniors attending five days a week when the director acknowledged that many participants typically attended only two or three days.
The director insisted the facility billed for actual attendance and said some seniors attended more frequently than others.
The confrontation intensified when Oz and other federal officials raised questions about specialized transportation services billed for seniors using wheelchairs.
"I don't see any wheelchairs here," Oz told the director.
Fox News Digital observed seniors inside the facility, including individuals using walking aids, but did not see anyone using a wheelchair during the visit.
Another official said billing records included charges for specialized wheelchair transportation, raising questions about whether the services had been provided and which company was responsible for submitting the charges.
The director said some seniors had mobility difficulties, including those recovering from strokes, and that the facility had wheelchairs available. He also said that workers could have copied information from previous files instead of properly updating the billing codes as it applied to wheelchair use.
"Probably he just copy and pasted," the director said.
During the visit, Oz walked over to several mahjong tables set up inside the facility, questioning whether taxpayer dollars were being properly spent on the recreational activities offered through the Medicaid-funded program.
"Should the American taxpayers be paying so folks can play mahjong?" Oz asked the director.
The director defended the activity, explaining that mahjong helps seniors exercise their fingers, socialize and improve their memory, particularly those experiencing cognitive difficulties.
"It's free for them, not free for the taxpayers," Oz responded. "Is that what our federal tax dollars for Medicaid is supposed to go to? Or is it life-saving heart surgery? Or, you know, new therapies for cancer?"
Oz raises concerns over seniors entering without signing in
Oz raised additional concerns about the facility's attendance records after observing seniors entering without signing in, despite the director's insistence that participants were required to document their attendance.
"People were just walking in there without signing anything," Oz said. "And then after I showed up and he saw what we were doing with my team, he started collecting these documents to be signed."
Oz said the apparent inconsistencies raised further questions about whether the facility's attendance records accurately reflected the services being billed to Medicaid.
Fox News Digital also witnessed several seniors enter Kent Senior Care without immediately signing attendance sheets. Additional seniors who arrived later were instructed to sign in.
Social adult day care programs can provide eligible seniors with structured activities, supervision, meals and social support. Medicaid reimbursement depends on applicable program rules, individual eligibility and documentation of services provided.
At the second stop, Evergreen Adult Day Care, Oz confronted a floor manager over another set of billing discrepancies before examining the facility's attendance records.
The manager told Oz that approximately 200 seniors attended the facility on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, compared with about 150 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, although it was unclear whether those figures represented total daily attendance or the number of seniors present at one time.
But Oz questioned those numbers after walking through the facility and observing significantly fewer people.
"So I look at maybe 25 people in the whole space now," Oz said.
The manager disputed that estimate, explaining that some seniors were participating in classes while others had left to shop, visit a pharmacy or attend medical appointments.
"The numbers don't seem to add up," Oz responded.
Oz also questioned the manager about wheelchair-related billing, asking how many participants used wheelchairs.
The manager initially indicated that none did before acknowledging that a small number of seniors used them.
"But you said there weren't any, were you?" Oz pressed.
He subsequently discussed the apparent discrepancy with other federal officials accompanying him.
"I'm struck by how few people are here as well," Oz said. "This makes me wonder how they sustain these billing levels."
The visit took another turn when Oz examined the facility's attendance books, which he said contained "fraud."
Fox News Digital observed sign-in sheets that appeared to contain names entered for Oct. 22, and Oct. 23, dates that had not yet occurred at the time of the visit.
The entries dated Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, both after the visit, raised questions about whether the facility was documenting attendance in advance, although Fox News Digital could not immediately establish whether the entries were completed attendance records or advance schedules.
Oz alleges organized crime ties to NYC Medicaid fraud
Oz said federal authorities believed organized criminal networks were exploiting the Medicaid-funded programs by offering seniors money to attend facilities and then billing the government for services that were not actually provided.
Oz alleged that individuals he described as being connected to the "Chinese mafia" were paying some seniors between $1,000 and $1,200 to participate in fraudulent billing arrangements, though the administrator did not identify a specific criminal organization or provide supporting evidence during the interview.
Oz said the federal government had identified significant spikes in billing across the industry and claimed that annual spending on the programs had approached $1 billion.
"We know from the billing here that there's no way this business is running in the way that they claim to be running without something being wrong," Oz told Fox News Digital.
"Is it an innocent mistake? A hundred times in a row, I don't think so."
Oz alleged that proceeds from fraudulent Medicaid billing schemes were being used to finance other criminal activities, including money laundering and human trafficking, although Fox News Digital had not independently verified those connections or established any such link to the two facilities visited.
"It's really a clubhouse for crime," Oz said while describing the alleged broader scheme.
He said fraud accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and criticized the previous administration for failing to address what he described as rapidly rising spending and suspicious billing.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul acknowledged the crackdown on Tuesday, calling it part of a "massive effort to combat fraud and abuse" in Medicaid and confirming that state health officials had joined federal and state law enforcement in targeting suspected fraud at social adult day care programs.
While Oz personally delivered warning letters to the two Queens facilities, state, local and federal law enforcement officials were simultaneously conducting searches at other locations across New York City as part of the coordinated crackdown.
Specific details about the facilities targeted, individuals involved and evidence recovered were not immediately available as the investigations remained ongoing.
Louis Civello, a Suffolk County police officer and president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, detailed Tuesday a prior incident in which a protester he once arrested tracked him down and waited outside his home.
"We are at an inflection point. This job is harder than ever before," Civello said during a New York State Public Safety Alliance event advocating for stronger legal protections for law enforcement officers and other local officials.
Civello recounted an incident in early 2026 in which he arrested a protester who showed up at his office for trespassing.
"Well, that wasn't enough for this individual," Civello said.
"He then decided he was going to find my address, came to my home with a billboard truck. That's how much money these people are making. They can buy billboard trucks," Civello continued.
"Now, there's only one reason to come to my house, right? I'm a public figure. Everyone knows where my building is in Suffolk County. There are seven police precincts in Suffolk County that you can protest in front of if you so choose. You only come to my home to terrorize my family, to get at me via my wife and my children," Civello said.
He then explained that the harassment his family endured from the provocateur was far from an isolated incident, but rather the norm.
He used the moment as an example of why he believed New York state needed to enact stronger protections for police officers, particularly as it pertains to privacy.
"The laws are woefully inadequate, and they're gonna get worse if we don't work to fix them," he said.
"Right now, no law against it. No law against coming to my house. So if you are a rapist, and I as a police officer arrest you, you can sit at the edge of my driveway and greet my wife as she comes home. No law against it. No law is publishing my address. If you want to look me up, look any police officer up, look any of us up, it's a few clicks of a mouse," he continued.
Civello called for an anti-doxxing law, and also questioned why New York doesn't have a "Halo Law," the popular moniker assigned to a newly enacted Florida statute that protects first responders from harassment after they give an individual a warning.
"All we're asking for is fifteen foot," Scott Munro, the president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, said. "Fifteen foot, that's all we're asking for, for safety reasons."
Munro also highlighted the broader coalition the New York State Public Safety Alliance had cobbled together in an effort to protect public employees from civilian violence. The group, Munro relayed, included 99 unions. complete with firefighters, traffic agents, sanitation enforcement agents, environmental police, bus drivers and more.
"Those people get assaulted every day. Assaults are up, almost 2,500 assaults this year alone on police officers, felony assaults, and public servants in New York City. That's what's going on," Munro said.
Fox News Digital contacted the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association and the Detectives' Endowment Association, which runs the New York State Public Safety Alliance, for further comment.
Striking a Make America Safe Again tone, Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman blasted Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul as the "most pro-criminal governor" during a Monday campaign event riding the New York City subway system, which has been plagued by violent crimes and commuter safety fears.
"I have not heard from one person, and from all the people, that it's safer on the subways and public transportation in New York," Blakeman said as he rode the subway. "I've heard just the opposite. Everybody says they feel less safe."
Blakeman, a Nassau County executive, is a former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Now running for governor, he was campaigning Monday in the densely populated city, which is overwhelmingly a Democratic stranglehold.
"Hire more police officers, hire more conductors, clean up our subways and get help for those who are emotionally ill – get them help that they need; not have them roam around our subways," Blakeman told reporters as he rode the subway, targeting both the governor and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the deep-blue area.
"The crime in the subways has gone up tremendously under Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani," Blakeman lamented. "They are not committed to public safety. I will be committed to public safety. I will make sure that our public transportation is safer and cleaner for the traveling public."
"That's how you get more people back in public transportation, not by putting a tax on them with congestion pricing, which is nothing more than a tax on the middle class," he added.
Blakeman hit Democrats for being negative influences on public safety, and Hochul specifically, for having "reduced the number of conductors on our trains and subways."
More police patrolling the subways and improving the lighting in dimly lit subway systems are on Blakeman's priority list, but he also discussed having more conductors manning the subways.
Hochul vetoed Albany legislation that would have required conductors on more subway trains, leaving the MTA’s one-person train operation program in place versus the June 2025 state-passed bill requiring at least two-person crews — an operator and conductor.
Hochul vetoed that bill on Dec. 5, 2025, arguing it would restrict MTA modernization efforts and cost up to $10 million annually.
"Police are very important, but I think people feel very comfortable and very safe when they see a conductor," Blakeman said. "I want to increase the numbers so that people feel safe."
Blakeman called Hochul "the most pro-criminal governor in the United States of America," citing several criminal-justice and immigration policies.
"Whether it’s cashless bail, Raise the Age, the HALT Act, Clean Slate, or refusing to cooperate with ICE and federal agents, she has made us less safe," he said, striking at Democrat-backed legislation long rebuked by police groups and Republican public safety hawks.
Cashless bail limits when judges can require defendants to put up money to be released. Raise the Age generally keeps 16- and 17-year-olds out of adult criminal court, while the HALT Act limits solitary confinement and changes prison disciplinary practices. The Clean Slate law seals certain criminal convictions from public view after a designated waiting period.
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