Dr. Mehmet Oz traveled to New York City and alleged that a so-called “Chinese mafia” could be involved in suspected Medicaid fraud linked to senior care facilities.
His visit came as Donald Trump and JD Vance unveiled a $25 million initiative aimed at encouraging Americans to report suspected fraud involving government programs.
Oz, the former television personality who now leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, delivered warning letters to senior centers in Flushing, Queens, as part of a broader federal investigation involving multiple agencies.
He joined two of more than 80 enforcement visits carried out across New York City on Tuesday, with several reportedly resulting in arrests. During the inspections, Oz questioned staff about billing practices and the use of taxpayer-funded Medicaid money.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Oz described his visits to Kent Senior Care and Evergreen Adult Day Care as “suspicious.” He also suggested, without presenting public evidence, that an organized group he referred to as the “Chinese mafia” could be paying individuals to help carry out the alleged scheme.
“People were just walking in there without signing anything,” Oz said. He added that one director began gathering documents for signatures after seeing what investigators were doing.
At Kent Senior Care, Oz challenged the director over what he viewed as unusually high claims. “The bills are much higher than they should be,” he said. “The billing is for more people. It doesn’t look very crowded here.”
The unnamed director responded that the inspection took place at 8:30 a.m., before many patients had arrived at the facility, which has a capacity of 70 people.
Dr. Mehmet Oz visited locations across New York City to question senior care providers suspected of Medicaid fraud, referring to some alleged operators as a “Chinese mafia”
Oz questioned why one facility had so many mahjong tables and asked whether American taxpayers should be paying for them
Oz rejected the explanation, saying the facility’s claims appeared to indicate that it was operating at full capacity every day. He said the warning letter had been issued “because we don’t believe you.”
The director maintained that Kent bills only for seniors who attend the center and requires signed attendance records to document their visits.
Oz continued to point to what he described as discrepancies, including patients reportedly attending only two or three days per week while claims reflected five days. He also questioned charges for specialized transportation for wheelchair users.
“I don’t see any wheelchairs here,” Oz said.
The director insisted that the center billed only for in-person attendance and said some patients came more frequently than others.
Oz also questioned the number of mahjong tables inside the facility, asking whether the activity should be funded with Medicaid dollars paid by American taxpayers.
“It’s free for them, not free for the taxpayers,” he said. “Is that what our federal tax dollars for Medicaid are supposed to go to? Or is it lifesaving heart surgery? Or new therapies for cancer?”
The director argued that mahjong is popular among seniors and can support cognitive skills while also helping participants exercise their fingers.
Oz described his visit to Kent Senior Care, pictured, as “suspicious,” along with his inspection of Evergreen Adult Day Care
At Evergreen Adult Day Care, Oz also raised questions about attendance records and alleged billing irregularities
Seniors were seen entering Kent Senior Care without signing attendance sheets, though those who showed up later were forced to sign in.
At Evergreen Adult Day Care, Oz also discovered billing discrepancies over attendance fraud.
While the manager claimed 200 seniors came in three days a week and 150 on the other two days a week, Oz said he only could see 25.
‘The numbers don’t seem to add up,’ Oz said after their director claimed some patients were in classes or off at doctor’s appointments.
Oz believes that the fraud goes deeper, into criminal networks and even the ‘Chinese mafia’ paying some people over $1,000 to help facilitate the attendance scams that help centers overcharge the government.
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‘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,’ he said.
He claimed that seeing the issue hundreds of times keeps it from being ‘an innocent mistake.
‘It’s really a clubhouse for crime,’ Oz said.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Washington, as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Vice President JD Vance and Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission listen
Nick Shirley speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday during an event with President Donald Trump in Washington.
New York’s Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul promised the state is engaging a ‘massive effort to combat fraud and abuse’ in Medicaid.
Our News Outlet has reached out to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for comment.
Trump and Vance on Tuesday announced a $25 million program to encourage the public to blow the whistle on suspected fraud in the government as they ramp up efforts to end the abuse of federal programs and dollars.
The White House said that under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, anyone who submits a tip that leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action is eligible to receive up to $30,000, and that the Justice Department will administer the program.
During the announcement, Trump said payments will amount to one percent commission on the amount of fraud the tip helps uncover.
Trump also said he will decide who gets reward money in cases where more than one person claims to have provided the tip.
‘I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions,’ Trump said in the Oval Office with Vance and other administration officials standing behind him. ‘It’ll be a binding arbitration.’
Trump said journalists could participate in the program.
The Republican president has undertaken an aggressive effort to eliminate fraud in government, establishing a task force on the topic in March and putting Vance in charge of it.
Critics have accused Trump and his family of profiting from the presidency through their many business ventures.
The White House says Trump acts only with the best interests of the American people in mind.
Vance, who said his work leading the task force is ‘fun,’ said tax dollars are being stolen.
‘The president has said it must stop. It is stopping. And if you want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards,’ the vice president said.
The White House had said Trump would present a $10,000 check to Nick Shirley, a right-wing influencer who posted a video last year that said members of Minnesota´s Somali community were running fake childcare centers to collect federal subsidies. But a check was not given to Shirley in the presence of journalists.
The 24-year-old’s video caught the attention of the Trump administration and conservative activists, though inspectors said the centers were operating as expected. Investigations, searches and arrests followed.
Shirley said during the event that fraud robs from poor and needy people.
‘When you expose fraud, you help save America,’ he said.
In July, Fahima Mahamud pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States by submitting inflated reimbursement claims for meals allegedly served to children at her childcare center, according to the Justice Department.
The White House says Mahamud was featured in Shirley’s video.
