And he thought last week was bad, that the mean old media is out to get him, and he has been scrutinized much worse the Obama. LOL.
That Ben Carson gets awfully creative with the truth is by now well established. Here's one if his more interesting ones, that Medicare and Medicaid fraud is "huge—half a trillion dollars." Which is pretty much impossible, since total spending for the two programs is less than a trillion—$980 billion last year, to be exact. But here's a new wrinkle on that specific claim: Carson has some very personal experience with Medicare fraud: his best friend and business partner has been convicted of it.
The friend in question, indeed Carson's best friend and business partner, is a Philadelphia-area oral surgeon, Alfonso Costa.
Carson and Costa have long been tight. They vacation together, and Carson holidays at an Italian resort villa owned by Costa's company. Costa is president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Ben Carson Scholars Fund, which awards $1,000 college scholarships to students who demonstrate good character and strong academics. And Costa's real estate development firm helps to oversee a lucrative investment for Carson and his wife, one that last year netted the Carsons between $200,000 and $2 million, according to the GOP candidate's financial disclosure forms.
As much as a quarter of Carson's $8 million-plus personal wealth is tied up in various real estate ventures with Costa, Mother Jones reports. He and Costa began business together in about 2007, at the same time Costa got into trouble with the feds. His investments were becoming so lucrative that he had stepped back from his dental practice, selling it to another oral surgeon, Roberto Michienzi, but—importantly—"he continued to work at this office until 2001 for a $10,000 monthly fee." From 1996 to 2001, the federal government charged, Costa and his partner defrauded insurance companies out of $44,000, over-billing them for services not provided.
According to Costa, he was only responsible for $180 in over-billing, a story Carson repeated in his 2013 book America the Beautiful. (In the same book, Carson suggested "some very stiff penalties for this kind of fraud, such as loss of one's medical license for life, no less than ten years in prison, and loss of all of one's personal possessions." Yet Carson wrote to the judge in his friend's case, pleading for leniency.) The judge did not buy Costa's assertion. "Costa received a tougher sentence: three years probation, one year of house arrest, 100 hours of community service, and he was ordered to pay restitution of $44,000 and a $250,000 fine." Carson maintains to this day that his friend was not guilty of fraud, despite the fact that Costa admitted it. In his book, Carson says that Costa was unfairly targeted by petty, jealous federal agents.
My friend owns a spectacular home, a Manhattan penthouse, two Ferraris, and a European villa. However, given the fortune he has amassed, he lives modestly compared to the lifestyle he could have if he so desired. I believe the lead agent was either jealous of his success or incorrectly concluded that he had organized crime connections that produced his wealth.
There's Carson's imagination running wild again—organized crime had nothing to do with the investigation. But it sure sounds a lot more dramatic and sinister than plain old healthcare fraud—that huge problem that is going to bankrupt the nation and should be punished by mandatory prison sentences and the loss of all personal possessions, says Carson. But that apparently only applies to people who aren't his BFF and business partner. Carson spent his 64th birthday this fall hanging out Costa's European villa, on the Amalfi coast.
That Ben Carson gets awfully creative with the truth is by now well established. Here's one if his more interesting ones, that Medicare and Medicaid fraud is "huge—half a trillion dollars." Which is pretty much impossible, since total spending for the two programs is less than a trillion—$980 billion last year, to be exact. But here's a new wrinkle on that specific claim: Carson has some very personal experience with Medicare fraud: his best friend and business partner has been convicted of it.
The friend in question, indeed Carson's best friend and business partner, is a Philadelphia-area oral surgeon, Alfonso Costa.
Carson and Costa have long been tight. They vacation together, and Carson holidays at an Italian resort villa owned by Costa's company. Costa is president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Ben Carson Scholars Fund, which awards $1,000 college scholarships to students who demonstrate good character and strong academics. And Costa's real estate development firm helps to oversee a lucrative investment for Carson and his wife, one that last year netted the Carsons between $200,000 and $2 million, according to the GOP candidate's financial disclosure forms.
As much as a quarter of Carson's $8 million-plus personal wealth is tied up in various real estate ventures with Costa, Mother Jones reports. He and Costa began business together in about 2007, at the same time Costa got into trouble with the feds. His investments were becoming so lucrative that he had stepped back from his dental practice, selling it to another oral surgeon, Roberto Michienzi, but—importantly—"he continued to work at this office until 2001 for a $10,000 monthly fee." From 1996 to 2001, the federal government charged, Costa and his partner defrauded insurance companies out of $44,000, over-billing them for services not provided.
According to Costa, he was only responsible for $180 in over-billing, a story Carson repeated in his 2013 book America the Beautiful. (In the same book, Carson suggested "some very stiff penalties for this kind of fraud, such as loss of one's medical license for life, no less than ten years in prison, and loss of all of one's personal possessions." Yet Carson wrote to the judge in his friend's case, pleading for leniency.) The judge did not buy Costa's assertion. "Costa received a tougher sentence: three years probation, one year of house arrest, 100 hours of community service, and he was ordered to pay restitution of $44,000 and a $250,000 fine." Carson maintains to this day that his friend was not guilty of fraud, despite the fact that Costa admitted it. In his book, Carson says that Costa was unfairly targeted by petty, jealous federal agents.
My friend owns a spectacular home, a Manhattan penthouse, two Ferraris, and a European villa. However, given the fortune he has amassed, he lives modestly compared to the lifestyle he could have if he so desired. I believe the lead agent was either jealous of his success or incorrectly concluded that he had organized crime connections that produced his wealth.
There's Carson's imagination running wild again—organized crime had nothing to do with the investigation. But it sure sounds a lot more dramatic and sinister than plain old healthcare fraud—that huge problem that is going to bankrupt the nation and should be punished by mandatory prison sentences and the loss of all personal possessions, says Carson. But that apparently only applies to people who aren't his BFF and business partner. Carson spent his 64th birthday this fall hanging out Costa's European villa, on the Amalfi coast.
