Staff Reports
California’s latest audits and investigations have exposed a staggering web of healthcare and daycare fraud, with ghost facilities bilking taxpayers out of tens of millions. At the same time, Gavin Newsom’s lax oversight enabled the chaos. Investigators found sham hospices and adult daycares—empty buildings or homes—raking in payments for nonexistent services, including one adult daycare billing $19 million despite zero activity. One Los Angeles doctor, Rajiv Bhuva, stands at the center, his name tied to 126 hospices and $71.7 million in Medicare claims for nearly 2,800 patients in a single year, a blatant red flag ignored by state regulators.
The fraud spans hospice scams enrolling healthy people as “dying” to harvest Medicare dollars and daycares claiming subsidies for phantom children, with over 100 agencies crammed at single addresses and $170 million traced in one probe alone. Federal raids arrested eight schemers, including hospice owners defrauding over $50 million, while California’s multi-agency task force claims credit for revoking 280 licenses—yet new flags emerge weekly. Real providers suffer as these paper operations undercut competition, and innocent doctors see licenses hijacked for the grift.
Newsom’s administration handed out licenses despite warnings, fostering an “empire of fraud” where billions vanish into EDD scams, ghost hospices, and more, burdening families who need genuine elder care. A House Oversight probe slammed the state for weak controls across health departments, demanding answers on why oversight failed amid exploding fraud. This isn’t oversight—it’s complicity through negligence, prioritizing bureaucracy over protecting hardworking Californians’ wallets.
Legitimate seniors and families pay the price, denied real hospice spots while fraudsters live lavishly off stolen funds that could fund actual care. Citizen watchdogs and YouTubers like Nick Shirley exposed empty sites after inspectors rubber-stamped them, forcing accountability where Sacramento slumbered. The pattern mirrors Democrat-led mismanagement nationwide, turning public programs into slush funds.
As 2028 looms, this scandal torches Newsom’s national dreams, proving voters demand leaders who fight fraud, not enable it. Taxpayers must stay vigilant, demanding audits, prosecutions, and reforms to dismantle the machine before more billions evaporate. Strengthened federal probes offer hope, but California needs real change to end the giveaway.
