Conservative investigative journalists strike again.
James O’Keefe’s latest investigation has turned up Medicaid bureaucrats assisting men posing as Russian drug dealers in obtaining government benefits. The bureaucrats, rather than call law enforcement or simply deny assistance to the drug dealers, help the men break the law.
The first video in the series shows government employees in Ohio assisting two men who have described themselves as Russian drug smugglers with applications for Medicaid.
In the video, the men explain to Ohio Medicaid workers that they are Russian immigrants who sell illegal drugs, drive a modified McLaren F1 sports car with a gold-coated engine, and use their underage sisters to perform sexual favors in exchange for drugs.
In response, Ohio employees tasked with disbursing federal Medicaid dollars are shown coaching the men through the process of applying for benefits. “If it’s not something registered here, maybe I just wouldn’t mention it,” a Franklin County Medicaid officer named Traci Daniels tells the men, when asked whether they should mention owning a vehicle that retails for nearly $1 million, as they apply for government aid designed to help poor people. “Not that I can say that. You didn’t hear that from me. But, that would right there, that would throw him off. He would be immediately not qualified.”
The two investigative reporters admit to the bureaucrats that they’re drug dealers who drive expensive cars and lack American citizenship. The bureaucrats respond by looking the other way and helping the men obtain benefits.
The first investigation released focuses on four Medicaid offices in Ohio. The undercover reporters intimate that they are drug dealers, drive expensive cars, and are not U.S citizens. At no time did the case workers ask the reporters to leave. Even though the reporters admit to making their living through drug dealing or facilitating child prostitution, the case workers never called the police, Child Protective Services or the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In fact, the case workers appear eager to assist the reporters in filling out the necessary Medicaid paperwork.
When one of the reporters inquires about Medicaid for his sick father, he asks that if it will be a problem if he sells the “herbal remedy,” the case worker replies: “Well, I mean, it doesn’t matter what kind of work he does.”
The video begins with a report from The Columbus Dispatch that says it costs Ohio $15.4 billion per year to run the Medicaid program—or $29,000 per minute.
“In this time of economic uncertainty, the American people deserve to know how their tax dollars are being wasted.” said James O’Keefe. “This is hardly an isolated incident. Government workers willing to aid people with criminal backgrounds and great wealth, should be an outrage to every America.
And before any left-wing smear merchants accuse the investigative journalists of editing the video to make the Medicaid bureaucrats look bad, know this: The full video has been released. So anyone can see everything that happened and decide if the portrayal is accurate.


by Stephan Tawney on July 18, 2011