‘Fraudster’s paradise’: Feds plan to file election fraud charges in California



Some individuals in California will soon face federal election fraud charges, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on Monday.

California has faced criticism for the delays in counting votes in the gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral primary races, fueling concerns of fraud.

'We will be charging some people.'

Now, a week after Election Day, California still has not counted all of the votes in its primary elections.

Last week, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles was investigating the delays.

Essayli noted in a post on social media that California allows its residents to register to vote using questionable forms of identification, including gym membership cards, employee ID cards, credit and debit cards, insurance cards, and prescription drug labels.

“This is permitted when a voter fails to provide a Social Security number or driver’s license at registration. Our office believes this policy deserves a closer look,” he wrote.

RELATED: Los Angeles mayor race called for far-left challenger after Pratt loses 40,000-vote lead

Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

During “The Glenn Beck Program” on Monday, Essayli told Beck that his office will be pursuing election fraud charges in the near future.

“It will be election fraud charges in the next — I hate to put timelines on things — one to two months, I believe. We need some of these results to be certified so we can prove some of the allegations,” Essayli stated. “But we will be charging some people.”

“At this point right now, we’re wide open for investigations,” he added.

RELATED: California gubernatorial race: A Republican and a Democrat appear headed for runoff election

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Essayli, who referred to California as a “fraudster’s paradise,” encouraged witnesses to come forward with any information.

“If someone voted in your name and you found out someone voted for you, we want to know about that. If you saw someone collecting ballots in a suspicious way or doing something odd with ballots, we want to know about that,” Essayli said. “Those are the kind of things we need direct evidence of right now so we can launch into deeper investigations.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

‘Absolutely RIGGED’: Critics question Raman’s ‘statistically impossible’ surge past Pratt in LA mayor race



Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt remains optimistic about his chances in the Los Angeles mayoral race despite losing his 40,000-vote lead and second-place position to far-left L.A. City Councilwoman Nithya Raman.

Critics of California’s delayed vote-counting are raising concerns that the primary election may have been stolen from Pratt, as the process has already dragged on for nearly a week.

'Raman has conveniently received a WILDLY disproportionate amount of "late mail-in ballots" compared to both Bass and Pratt.'

Pratt’s nearly 10-point advantage over Raman on Election Day slowly shrank in the days following, with Raman eventually taking the lead. As of Monday, Raman is up 3,000 votes, according to the Associated Press.

“Folks, we’re dealing with a fraction of a percentage point difference, there’s still hundreds of thousands of votes outstanding, and LA officials have given us the next 3 weeks to count! Let’s git-r-dun!” Pratt wrote in a post on social media on Monday.

President Donald Trump chimed in on the latest ballot results, calling it “not possible” for Pratt to have lost to Raman “after the big lead he had.”

“3rd World Nation. Rigged Elections!” Trump wrote. “Won’t have results for, possibly, TWO WEEKS, according to officials.”

RELATED: Spencer Pratt’s 40,000-vote lead vanishes in Los Angeles mayor race as California continues counting ballots

Nithya Raman. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Political commentator Benny Johnson stated that the recent ballot drops heavily favoring Raman were “statistically impossible.”

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck noted that Raman, a third-place candidate, “suddenly” began winning “1st in every new ballot drop.” He shared a graph showing incumbent Karen Bass gaining roughly the same percentage of votes with each new ballot drop while Raman surged.

Journalist Nick Sortor declared the election “absolutely RIGGED” and called for authorities to open an investigation.

“Raman has conveniently received a WILDLY disproportionate amount of ‘late mail-in ballots’ compared to both Bass and Pratt,” Sortor wrote.

RELATED: ‘BIG cheating’: Trump drops bombshell on California for vote-counting delays

Spencer Pratt. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Trump announced last week that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles was investigating California’s vote-counting delay.

On Sunday, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli stated that California allows residents to register to vote using gym membership cards, employee ID cards, credit and debit cards, insurance cards, and prescription drug labels.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump DOJ opens multiple investigations into possible election fraud in California



As California officials continue to be mocked for the glacier-speed ballot-counting process, the U.S. Dept. of Justice announced several investigations into possible election fraud.

Without commenting on any specific allegations, acting U.S. Attorney for Central California Bill Essayli announced Friday that his office, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had opened "multiple election fraud investigations."

'We will investigate and prosecute. Every legal vote deserves to be counted. Every illegal vote cancels one out.'

"Protecting the integrity of California’s elections is a top priority for my office," said Essayli in the post on social media. "California’s election system has serious structural vulnerabilities. Universal vote-by-mail with no voter ID requirements creates conditions where fraud can go undetected and unpunished, eroding public confidence."

The highly anticipated results in two California elections are still in limbo as the ballot count continues. Critics accuse Democrats of stalling the process in order to allow for fraud, but others say the electoral system in California prioritizes ballot access at the expense of delayed results.

"We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent," Essayli added.

Left in the lurch are the candidates awaiting the primary results for the Los Angeles mayoral election as well as the California governor's race. Currently, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt appear headed toward the general election, but as more tranches of votes are counted, the gap narrows for third-place Democratic competitors to steal their spot.

The top two vote-getters in each race will advance to the general election.

Essayli went on to say they were working to comprehensibly audit the voter rolls.

"The state has stonewalled every effort to verify that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered to vote. This case is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal," he added.

Video from L.A. County's central processing center, where the ballots are being counted, showed an official from the U.S. Attorney General's Office reviewing and monitoring the effort.

RELATED: The man who propelled AOC into Congress fails SPECTACULARLY in race for Pelosi's seat

"My office will not look the other way," Essayli concluded. "We will investigate and prosecute. Every legal vote deserves to be counted. Every illegal vote cancels one out."

On Thursday, Newsom's press office said, "For the record: we wish the votes were counted faster, too."

Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta offered only a brief statement about the announcement.

"My office has a presence on the ground right now, is monitoring the situation closely, and stands ready to protect voters and ensure California’s election laws are followed," he wrote.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

How California ‘Health Charities’ Funnel Money To Karen Bass And Other Democrats

California's healthcare nonprofits should return to their core missions of healthcare services rather than subsidizing politicians.

UCLA’s medical school racially discriminated against white, Asian applicants: DOJ



A year-long Department of Justice investigation has found that the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, discriminated against applicants based on race.

A Wednesday press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California announced that the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division discovered evidence that the school’s leadership “intentionally selected applicants based on their race.”

‘Federal law and the Supreme Court precedent are clear: Race discrimination has no place in our nation’s institutions of higher learning.’

The DOJ cited UCLA’s “dubious contention that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, rather than by the most qualified.”

The investigation claimed that, on average, black and Hispanic applicants whom the medical school admitted had lower academic qualifications than their white and Asian counterparts.

The department concluded that the medical school violated civil rights laws by intentionally discriminating on the basis of race. The DOJ highlighted that medical schools receive significant federal financial assistance.

“UCLA’s admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence — allowing racial politics to distract the school from the vital work of training great doctors,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division stated. “Racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American, and this Department will not allow it to continue.”

RELATED: DEI class at UCLA's medical school sets up future doctors to fight the patriarchy and accept 'weight loss is useless'

Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images

First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said, “Federal law and the Supreme Court precedent are clear: Race discrimination has no place in our nation’s institutions of higher learning.”

“The pattern of illegal and odious conduct by UCLA’s medical school is abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles,” Essayli added.

RELATED: UCLA School of Medicine's radical DEI czar clumsily plagiarized vast portions of her dissertation on DEI: Report

Mario Tama/Getty Images

A UCLA medical school spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that its admissions process is “based on merit” and “grounded in a rigorous, comprehensive review of each applicant.” The spokesperson rejected claims that it broke the law.

“We are confident in our practices and our mission to maintain access to a high-quality education to all qualified students,” the spokesperson told the Times. “We are carefully reviewing the Department of Justice’s report. The David Geffen School of Medicine is committed to providing equal opportunity to all applicants and fully complying with federal and state laws.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democratic mayor installs 'anti-ICE' signs all over Los Angeles — Trump administration issues MOCKING response



"Anti-ICE" signs are reportedly popping up all over official buildings in Los Angeles at the order of Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for re-election.

Bass ordered the signs to be installed at over 450 sites in order to warn federal agents against entering and using the locations to launch immigration enforcement operations.

'This whole thing is silly. The signs have no legal weight, force, or effect on anything.'

"I will not stand by while federal agents use our neighborhoods as staging grounds for fear and intimidation," Bass said in a statement to KTTV-TV. "In Los Angeles, we are setting clear boundaries: City property will not be used to carry out these raids."

Bill Essayli, the first assistant United States attorney for the Central District of California, derided the signs and the order from Bass.

"I just think this whole thing is silly. The signs have no legal weight, force, or effect on anything the federal government does," he said. "Federal agents will go anywhere they need to go to enforce federal law, including city property."

He went on to deny the signs would prevent federal officers from performing their duty.

"No. Not at all. They're null and void. They mean nothing to us," he said of the signs.

The signs read as follows:

"This property is owned or controlled by the city of Los Angeles. It may only be used for its intended city purpose and not used for immigration enforcement as a staging area, processing location, or operations base."

The sign prominently cites Mayor Bass, whose beleaguered re-election campaign has been hamstrung by low approval ratings from Angelenos.

While L.A. municipal races are technically nonpartisan, Bass is a prominent member of the Democratic Party. She even gave a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

RELATED: More than 100 outraged community members denounce elementary school teacher over 2-word post about ICE

KTTV said officials did not say how much the signage cost the city, but the news outlet estimated it could have cost about $250,000.

The signs are posted at transit hubs, parks, libraries, zoos, and parking lots.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

How a California crook committed $178 million worth of health care fraud — in just one year



A California man pleaded guilty on Monday to stealing millions of dollars in taxpayer funds through his participation in a prescription drug fraud scheme, the Department of Justice reported.

Paul Richard Randall, a 66-year-old man from Orange County, has admitted to submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program, from May 2022 to April 2023.

'This guilty plea should send a message that this administration — consistent with the president’s war on fraud — will not turn a blind eye while criminals fleece taxpayers.'

As part of his plea agreement, Randall confessed that he and his alleged accomplices took advantage of Medi-Cal by exploiting a policy change. The government program suspended the requirement for health care providers to obtain prior authorization before delivering services and medications for reimbursement while transitioning its prescription drug program to a new payment system.

Randall billed Medi-Cal millions of dollars each month for dispensing high-reimbursement, non-contracted, generic drugs through a pharmacy, including some pain medications. One such medication was Folite tablets, a vitamin available over the counter.

The DOJ contended that of the $270 million billed, Medi-Cal paid more than $178 million for 19 drugs that were either medically unnecessary, not provided to the patients, or both.

The funds provided by Medi-Cal were laundered to a third party to pay kickbacks to Randall and his alleged co-schemers.

RELATED: Vance's task force shutters 221 hospices in 'fraud king' Gavin Newsom's California

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Randall has been in federal custody since June 2025 and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He faces up to 30 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 3.

One of Randall’s accomplices, Kyrollos Mekail, a 37-year-old from Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to two counts of health care fraud. Mekail is awaiting sentencing.

A second alleged co-conspirator is charged with two counts of health care fraud.

RELATED: The Medicaid fraud problem is not going away

J. David Ake/Getty Images

“This defendant used a public health program as his personal piggy bank,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said of Randall. “This guilty plea should send a message that this administration — consistent with the president’s war on fraud — will not turn a blind eye while criminals fleece taxpayers.”

“Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, the Department, working closely with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is supercharging efforts to take down every fraudster and bring them to justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Vance's task force shutters 221 hospices in 'fraud king' Gavin Newsom's California



The Trump administration's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vice President JD Vance, reported that it has shut down hundreds of hospices and health care providers over a 10-week period.

Vance's task force, established by presidential executive order on March 16, has been working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to crack down on health care fraud.

'Remember, none of this fraud could happen unless California issued these licenses.'

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz told Fox News Digital on Thursday that 221 hospice and health care providers in Los Angeles County had been suspended.

"We've shut down already, just in the last 10 weeks, 221 hospices in California," Oz told Fox News Digital, noting that all of the entities were located in Los Angeles.

"We're able to dramatically accelerate a process that had been meandering along in California," Oz stated.

Roughly a third of the nation's hospices, 1,800, are located in Los Angeles, according to Oz. He stated that the administration believes it will shut down half of those entities.

RELATED: Vance’s fraud task force drops hammer: 70 California hospice and home health providers suspended

Mehmet Oz. Alex Wong/Getty Images

"The administration's war on fraud once again yields results as more suspensions take place and fraudsters face justice for ripping off hard-working Americans and stealing their tax dollars and social services," a spokesperson for Vance told Blaze News. "The vice president and his task force are proud of these latest figures and expect to see this number continue to grow dramatically."

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom's office responded to the administration's latest efforts to suspend hospices accused of fraud.

"Glad the federal government is finally stepping up to do their part," his office wrote. "State has been taking action for years, including suspending 280+ licenses & banning new licenses since 2022."

RELATED: 'Minnesota was big but California is even bigger': Nick Shirley uncovers staggering alleged fraud right under Newsom's nose

Gavin Newsom. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli told Fox News Digital that California has "not taken fraud seriously for over a decade."

Essayli explained that he refers to Newsom as "the fraud king" because "he has reigned over billions and billions of dollars of fraud."

"It's gonna be into the hundreds of billions of dollars under his watch," Essayli said. "Remember, none of this fraud could happen unless California issued these licenses."

Newsom's press office fired back at Essayli after he claimed the governor has refused to implement emergency regulations that would help end hospice fraud.

"The Governor took action: he instituted a BAN on new hospice licenses back in 2022!!" the press office wrote. "Only the federal government has access to medicare billing, CRITICAL to fighting fraud — so why did it take you so long to act, First Assistant?"

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

LA No Kings protest explodes into violent riot as thugs throw cement blocks at federal agents



Thousands participated in the No Kings rally in downtown Los Angeles, which escalated into a violent riot, resulting in dozens of arrests.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that a group of roughly 1,000 people surrounded a federal government office on Saturday evening.

'To those who were smashing concrete blocks and throwing them at our officers, we have you on video.'

“Rioters are throwing rocks, bottles, and cement blocks at officers. Two officers hit with the cement blocks are receiving medical care,” the DHS said.

The Los Angeles Police Department reported that it arrested 75 people in connection with Saturday’s protest. The arrests occurred after a dispersal order was issued at 5:30 p.m.

“Several splinter groups remain in the Civic Center Area hours after the demonstration has concluded. Multiple dispersal orders have been given with multiple arrests being made,” the LAPD wrote Saturday evening.

The LAPD stated that 66 adults and eight juveniles were arrested for failure to disperse. Another individual was arrested for possession of a dirk or dagger.

RELATED: Inside the No Kings rallies — violent protests EXPOSED

Jon Putman/Anadolu/Getty Images

Fox News shared a video of an agitator spray-painting the side of a federal building in Los Angeles. The individual wrote in red paint, “Kill your local ICE agent.”

DHS called the agitator’s actions “disgraceful.”

“Our ICE law enforcement officers are facing an 8,000% increase in death threats as they arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from American communities,” DHS said.

“Federal agents have started arresting those who assaulted our personnel at the Los Angeles courthouse. To those who were smashing concrete blocks and throwing them at our officers, we have you on video. We will find you and arrest you too. You’ve been warned,” First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli stated.

Another video shared by Fox News showed a crowd of agitators kicking a fence outside a DHS building.

RELATED: 'Misplaced mothering': No Kings anti-Kirk protesters reveal a culture in crisis

Jay L Clendenin/Getty Images

No Kings rallies were held in cities across the nation over the weekend. The event’s organizers claimed that at least 8 million people attended over 3,300 rallies in the U.S., calling it the “largest single-day nonviolent protest in modern American history.”

In New York City, some protesters participating in the No Kings rally waved Communist flags, chanting, “There is only one solution: Communist Revolution.” The New York Police Department reported that tens of thousands of demonstrators “peacefully” demonstrated and that no protest-related arrests were made.

Meanwhile, footage surfaced from outside a Portland, Oregon, immigration detention center that showed a group of protesters breaking the gate.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!