Brown Recovers $209M in Medi-Cal Fraud - Mum on Jessica's Law

Posted by CotoBlogzz 03-08-2010

Sacramento, CA -Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.  announced today that last year, his office recovered more than $209 million in "hard-earned taxpayer dollars" and secured 139 criminal convictions by aggressively investigating and prosecuting Medi-Cal fraud cases.  On the other hand, the AG's office has been mum on the tragic death of Chelsea King.  Critics like Governor Huckabee blame California's Department of Mental Health and the AG's office for the release of  John Albert Gardner III, 30, a registered sex offended, and now the individual accused in Chelsea's death.

The author of California’s Jessica’s Law, Sen. George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) weighed in saying that  "What the voters understood is that, by passing Jessica’s Law in 2006, they would empower district attorneys to put dangerous, violent rapists away for longer periods of time – including the civil confinement of sexually violent predators."  but adds that “Unfortunately, because Jessica’s Law was not in place when Gardner was sentenced for lude and lascivious behavior and false imprisonment of a minor in 2000, he was not eligible for additional confinement in a state mental hospital but instead released to the streets after serving a mere five years in prison.”

AG Brown did  report that in 2009, his Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse returned more than $12 million to victims of elder abuse and secured 47 criminal convictions in elder abuse cases.

Combined, Brown recovered more than $221 million in Medi-Cal fraud and elder abuse cases.According the the AG's office, the amount recovered last year is more than six times the BMFEA's $33.1 million operating budget. This represents a recovery of $36 for every $1 expended from the state's general funds.

The recoveries stem from restitution obtained in Medi-Cal fraud, elder abuse, and patient fund cases. Patient fund cases occur when a disabled person's finances are being controlled by a trustee who steals from the patient's trust account.