Free Republic

Federal prosecutors have charged a former Bay Area resident with carrying out a massive health care fraud scheme that allegedly sought to steal more than $90 million from government programs. A federal grand jury indicted Anar Rustamov, a 38-year-old Azerbaijani national who previously lived in Sunnyvale, on multiple counts tied to health care fraud and money laundering. The Justice Department said he is currently at large and could face significant prison time and fines if convicted. According to prosecutors, Rustamov, who entered the U.S. illegally, played a main role in submitting thousands of fraudulent claims through the Medicare Advantage program....

David Spade is calling out California’s leadership for the collapse of Hollywood. During a recent episode of his podcast, “Fly on the Wall,” which he co-hosts with Dana Carvey, the 61-year-old actor and comedian said “the Hollywood industry is dying” and that he’s “just trying to put the blame somewhere.” “Dude, I’m so old,” he said. “I was on the lot at, uh, CBS Radford when we were doing ‘Just Shoot Me’… And also they were doing ‘Seinfeld,’ and I’d see him on his bike. “It was the greatest lot. Of course, just filed for bankruptcy, the lot. Terrifying in...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s disgraced former chief of staff Dana Williamson has broken her silence as she prepares for court on criminal charges involving alleged tax fraud and a plot to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds. “I’m recovering,” Williamson told the California Post from her home on Friday, referencing a liver transplant she underwent earlier this year that has caused delays in her case. She declined to comment further before closing the door. Federal prosecutors alleged in a 23-count indictment filed in November that Williamson was part of a scheme to steal roughly $225,000 from a...

A federal lawmaker introduced legislation Thursday aimed at cracking down on alleged fraud within a federal program that paid for dead people’s phone and internet service. Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is targeting the federal Lifeline program, which subsidizes the services for low-income Americans, after California was accused of taking in $3.8 million between 2020 and 2025 to cover the costs for 94,000 dead people. “While Californians are taxed to the grave and back, its governor especially can’t pass the buck when the state is allowing providers to enroll dead people in a federal program,” Ernst told The Post. A...