{"id":285,"date":"2026-05-27T10:39:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=285"},"modified":"2026-05-27T10:39:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:39:43","slug":"hawaii-ag-others-push-back-on-vance-call-his-roundtable-a-political-stunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=285","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii AG, others push back on Vance, call his roundtable \u2018a political stunt\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez on Tuesday joined attorneys general from California, New York, New Jersey and Wisconsin \u2014 all states with Democrat governors \u2014 to accuse Vice President JD Vance of partisan political grandstanding with his anti-fraud roundtable.<\/p>\n

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Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez on Tuesday joined attorneys general from California, New York, New Jersey and Wisconsin \u2014 all states with Democrat governors \u2014 to accuse Vice President JD Vance of partisan political grandstanding with his anti-fraud roundtable.<\/p>\n

The four were among the 24 Democratic attorneys general who sent a letter dated Tuesday to Vance \u2014 who heads President Donald Trump\u2019s new Task Force to Eliminate Fraud \u2014 declining his invitation to Tuesday\u2019s event, noting it was Friday when they received their invitation to attend, more than a week after he invited Republican attorneys general to participate.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI chose not to send anybody,\u201d Lopez said during a Zoom press conference hosted by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. \u201cWe received the invitation on Friday afternoon at 4:30. To fly from Hawaii to Washington, D.C., is about a 12-hour flight. It would\u2019ve cost a few thousand dollars for a one-hour meeting that didn\u2019t include an agenda and was simply called \u2018fraud.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to waste our money and our resources and our time to attend that meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lopez noted that two weeks ago, Vance \u201cexplicitly called out Hawaii as not caring about fraud in our state\u201d and added \u201cnothing could be further from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take the investigation, prosecution and recovery of fraudulently obtained state and federal funds seriously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The data used by Vance, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, show investigations by the state\u2019s Medicare Fraud Control Unit produced no criminal indictments or convictions between 2022 and 2025 \u2014 making Hawaii the only state with that distinction.<\/p>\n

According to Lopez, since 2021 civil cases brought by the state\u2019s MFCU have resulted in \u201cover $14 million in judgments, settlements and recoveries in 25 separate cases.\u201d She also noted there were criminal charges filed against two individuals this year, with one defendant entering a no-contest plea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not symbolic efforts. These investigations are producing real results for the people of Hawaii,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

The federal government pays 75% of the operating costs of Hawaii\u2019s MFCU, which is budgeted for $3.9 million this year. Understaffing has been an issue, with three positions out of 18 currently authorized vacant and under recruitment. The unit has, however, been recertified yearly after an annual review by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.<\/p>\n

At least four Democratic-controlled states did send representatives to the Vance\u2019s roundtable \u2014 California, New York, New Jersey and Minnesota \u2014 but those representatives were denied admittance at the door, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.<\/p>\n

\u201cReal collaboration between states and the federal government is critical to addressing fraud and waste, but that partnership requires proper notice, sincere engagement, and a genuine opportunity for productive discussion,\u201d James said. \u201dBut we are very concerned that Medicaid cuts weaken the very oversight that helps prevent fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Also on Tuesday, Vance lauded fraud prevention actions by the administration, which include the creation of a new division within the Department of Justice for federal fraud enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn just two months, we exposed billions of dollars in benefits that had been stolen from the American people,\u201d Vance said. \u201cWe referred over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans back to the Treasury for collection. We deferred more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements that were coming from various states, particularly California.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put a six-month hold on enrollments for new hospice and home health care providers, because so many of the newer hospice providers were not actually providing hospice services, but were just focused on fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonta described Vance\u2019s roundtable \u2014 which included Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz, and White House advisor Stephen Miller \u2014 as a \u201cpolitical stunt from the White House aimed to divide our nation and pit our parties and states against one another on an issue that isn\u2019t, and shouldn\u2019t be partisan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the president and Dr. Oz spread lies and stage stunts to stoke the flames of distrust, the truth is Democratic AGs have recovered billions of taxpayer dollars, secured criminal convictions and implemented reforms to strengthen the security of our programs,\u201d Bonta said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, last month we took down a hospice fraud ring in Los Angeles County responsible for defrauding (Medicaid) and the state of California of $267 million. We arrested five individuals and filed felony criminal charges against 21 suspects. It\u2019s the largest hospice fraud bust in state history. And my office handled it, soup to nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonta said he and the other attorneys general are \u201cnot here to claim our states are immune to fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like Texas, Florida, Ohio and every other state, our states have been preyed upon by fraudsters and scam artists looking to make an easy buck off taxpayers\u2019 backs,\u201d he said. \u201cThe problem is, that instead of working with us to actually root out fraud and protect taxpayers, Trump, Vance and Oz are politicizing the problem and gaslighting the people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the federal government ever decides to quit playing games, we\u2019ll be here, ready and willing to join forces to tackle fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lopez said she wants politics \u201cto be removed from the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want the public to understand that fraud enforcement is not about headlines or politics,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about protecting public funds, preserving the integrity of central healthcare programs and ensuring accountability when people attempt to exploit systems designed to help vulnerable residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome a constructive partnership and serious discussion about improving fraud prevention and enforcement. At the end of the day, our commitment remains the same \u2014 protecting the integrity of the Medicaid program and protecting taxpayer resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Email John Burnett at john.burnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hawaii AG, others push back on Vance, call his roundtable \u2018a political stunt\u2019 – Hawaii News | Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHawaii AG, others push back on Vance, call his roundtable \u2018a political stunt\u2019 - Moving to Hawaii Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=285\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawaii AG, others push back on Vance, call his roundtable \u2018a political stunt\u2019 - 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