‘Statistical Illiteracy’ Rick Scott Demands AG James to Explain How NY’s Fraud Got Away
13th August 2026
Special Senate Committee on Aging Chairman Rick Scott sent a letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James demanding answers on alleged rampant Medicare fraud in her state.
The Florida Republican’s letter noted that the number of indictments and convictions for Medicare fraud has declined under the New York Medicaid Fraud Control Unit since James assumed her role.
For instance, from 2023 through 2025, New York secured only 53 Medicaid fraud convictions, while the next-lowest state with a similar population secured 129 convictions, Scott’s letter said. In four of the past five years, New York recorded fewer than 10 criminal fraud indictments, ranking last among comparable states every year from 2021 through 2025.
In his letter, Scott added that the unit’s performance “fell off a cliff” in 2020, as fraud convictions decreased from 56 in 2019 to only 14 in 2020, and patient abuse and neglect convictions collapsed from 30 to just four over that same period.