Newsom files civil rights complaint with HHS against Dr Oz

California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services against Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz after a video of his visit to Los Angeles.

On Thursday evening, Newsom announced that his office was filing a civil rights complaint with HHS, accusing Oz of discrimination, The Associated Press reported. According to the complaint, Newsom’s office argued that Oz, in a video, “spewed baseless and racially charged allegations” that risked chilling participation in hospice and home care programs among the Armenian community.

The governor’s office noted Oz's claims had “already caused real-world harm” by reducing business at an Armenian bakery that is shown in the video.

Oz had posted a video documenting fraud allegations in the Los Angeles area that he linked to a Russian-Armenian syndicate. The CMS has not publicly shared details that confirm the alleged fraud.

The video shows Oz visiting the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles and pointing to a four-block radius that he says is the location of 42 hospices, suggesting potential fraud. He also references a business that he says was part of a $16 million fraud scheme.

Then, Oz alleges that about $3.5 billion in hospice and home care fraud has taken place in Los Angeles, and “quite a bit of it” was run by “the Russian Armenian mafia,” while standing in front of a building that includes an Armenian bakery.

Oz describes the Armenian script on the businesses’ signs while the camera pans to the bakery, saying, “You notice the lettering and language behind me is of that dialect.” He also claims in the video that there “has not been a lot of attention on these problems” in California.

On social media, Newsom disputed Oz’s claims in the video and noted that California had revoked more than 280 hospice licenses and banned new licenses starting in 2022 because of concerns about fraud. Newsom and Oz argued with each other on social media over the issue.

Newsom's office posted on X on Wednesday, "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 taking these allegations seriously. Any and all acts of hate have no place in California."

Oz's parents immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey. Armenia and Turkey have a long history of hostility, with the Armenian genocide under the Ottoman Empire ranking among the most violent incidents. 

Oz and the CMS didn't immediately respond to the AP's requests for comment.