California Gov. Newsom files civil rights complaint against Dr. Oz

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has filed a civil rights complaint against Dr. Mehmet Oz for allegedly discriminating against Armenian Americans in Los Angeles.

In a recent social media video, Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who was a former TV talk show host, said Los Angeles County had “become an epicenter for health care fraud in America.” Oz highlighted Armenian businesses in Los Angeles’ Van Nuys neighborhood in the short video posted Jan. 27.

The office of Newsom, a Democrat, sent President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services its Jan. 29 letter saying Oz “spewed baseless and racially charged allegations targeting the Armenian community in Los Angeles.”

In response to a request for comment, CMS referred to Oz's Jan. 30 X post. The agency didn't answer questions about concerns of discrimination against Armenian Americans.

"Gavin Newsom will do literally anything to avoid talking about the rampant Medicare fraud in his state," Oz said. "The problem isn't isolated to California, though as far as our team can tell, it is the worst. Every working American pays into Medicare, and I will not stand idly by while criminals steal from this critical social safety net program."

Southern California is home to the largest Armenian population in the country. Oz's video has spurred a large backlash among California politicians and Armenian American community leaders.

"When a federal official like Dr. Oz traffics in racism and baseless claims that single out an entire community, it spreads fear and discrimination," California Assemblyman John Harabedian, a Pasadena Democrat who is the only Armenian currently in the state legislature, said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Californians of Armenian heritage and all our neighbors deserve leadership that defends civil rights and holds useless figures like Dr. Oz accountable for words that harm real people.”

The Armenian National Committee of America, an advocacy group, on X said it supported Newsom’s recent complaint to investigate what it called “Dr. Oz’s racist scapegoating.”

Aram Hamparian, the organization's president, said in an interview that Oz was trying to bully a group that has had deep roots in California. The group previously worked to defeat Oz in his failed 2022 Senate campaign in Pennsylvania.

"I think he'll find that we're not a group you can bully," he said.

The letter by Newsom's office cited comments made in the video by Oz, a Turkish American who served in Turkey's military. Oz said Armenian businesses, including a popular bakery, had criminal ties.

“You notice the lettering and language behind me is of that dialect,” Oz said as he stood in front of a strip mall. “It also highlights the fact that this is an organized crime mafia deal.”

Behind Oz, a bakery’s sign read “Lavash,” or Armenian flatbread. Oz said it was “Russian, Armenian writing,” misidentifying Armenian with Cyrillic script. The bakery owner has told local news outlets he lost significant business since Oz’s video.

“Such racially charged and false public statements by anyone involved in administering these critical federal healthcare programs seriously risks chilling participation in those programs by individuals targeted by the statement,” David Sapp, legal affairs secretary for Newsom, wrote to HHS' Centralized Case Management Operations.

State officials sought an investigation into potential violations of the 1964 Civil Rights Act Title VI, which protects people − regardless of race, color or national origin − from being excluded from federal benefits. Newsom’s press office earlier said it was taking the allegations seriously given “historic sensitivities” between Turkey and Armenia. 

Oz vows action on Medicare fraud

Asked about the complaint, HHS referred to Oz's Jan. 28 X post, saying "CMS and law enforcement will keep doing the actual work: going after fraudsters, period."

Oz's video resembled others made by the Trump administration and conservative media figures alleging childcare fraud in Minnesota, which prompted federal immigration enforcement surges in and around Minneapolis, particularly against Somali Americans.

In a Jan. 27 X post, Newsom’s office said the governor banned new hospices beginning in 2022 and revoked more than 280 licenses. A 2020 Los Angeles Times investigation found a multi-billion dollar hospice fraud industry concentrated in Los Angeles County, with fraudulent providers targeting older Americans to bill Medicare for services and equipment they don’t use. Several hospices had addresses listed in Van Nuys, the LA Times reported.

Oz responded that Newsom knew about “rampant fraud for years” but hadn’t taken it on.

Worries of immigration enforcement

Barlow Der Mugrdechian, a professor of Armenian studies at Fresno State University, said Oz's claims feed into a narrative frequently used by the Trump administration that immigrants bring crime. Immigrants commit fewer crimes than Americans born in the country.

"In a sense, Armenians are being targeted here," Der Mugrdechian said. "Because there's really no reason for that to have taken place."

Many Armenian families began settling in California over a century ago after fleeing from the Ottoman Empire during the Armenian genocide in the early 20th century, though some arrived decades earlier, Der Mugrdechian said.

More recent Armenian immigrants to Los Angeles arrived from repressive governments, including the former Soviet Union and Iran, said Los Angeles Councilman Adrin Nazarian, whose family fled Iran when he was a child. Nazarian represents the area Oz visited.

Such baseless allegations used to detain people harken back to regimes Armenians fled, Nazarian said in an interview. "These are things real, thoughtful government officials would take into consideration."

During large immigration enforcement surges in and around Los Angeles in prior months, Nazarian said his office had held "know your rights" trainings if people were stopped, including in Armenian communities. He added community members are worried about newer actions targeting Armenians.

This story was updated with new information.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at [email protected] or on Signal at emcuevas.01.