Newsom Mocked the Guy Exposing $170 Million in California Fraud. It Backfired Spectacularly.
Nick Shirley's response got 190,000 likes. The governor's office got a lesson in what happens when you mock the whistleblower. #California
Gavin Newsom Tried to Mock Nick Shirley for Exposing Fraud. That Backfired Spectacularly.
When a governor's press office sees allegations of massive public fraud and decides the best response is to clown the guy investigating it, you are no longer dealing with seriousness. You are dealing with California.
That is exactly what happened when independent journalist and YouTuber Nick Shirley went public with a new investigation into alleged daycare and hospice fraud in California. Instead of saying, "Let's check the records." Instead of saying, "If this is real, heads should roll." Gavin Newsom's office mocked him online.
According to reporting from Fox News Digital, Newsom's office posted a sneering jab at Shirley's investigation. Shirley fired back with the kind of response that goes viral because normal people are sick of being treated like idiots:
"You do realize I'm trying to help America eliminate fraud and waste right? No need to try and make me look like the bad guy for exposing fraud. People are over it. Start working for the people and not against them."
190,000 likes. 20,000 reposts. That landed because it was true.
Citizen Journalism Did What the Political Class Would Not
Shirley did not wait for permission. He grabbed a camera, checked public records, went to the addresses, and let the public see what was there. Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that Shirley's California investigation claimed more than $170 million in suspected fraud tied to daycare and hospice locations, including empty buildings, residences, boarded-up properties, and suspicious office clusters.
The Hospice Side Is Not New. That Is the Problem.
The California State Auditor warned in a March 2022 report that the state's "weak oversight of hospice agencies has created opportunities for large-scale fraud and abuse." The audit flagged multiple red flags in Los Angeles County:
A 1,500 percent increase in hospice agencies since 2010
One Van Nuys building had more than 150 licensed hospice and home health agencies
One LA office plaza associated with 89 registered hospice companies
Unusually long hospice stays and high numbers of patients discharged alive
Shirley described the scam pattern in blunt terms: get a small office in LA, collect Medicare beneficiary numbers, enroll people into hospice, bill the government for millions, and when heat comes, shut the office and walk away.
Newsom's Hypocrisy Is the Real Story
California politicians love to sermonize the rest of the country about compassion, equity, and public investment. They always have a lecture ready. They always have a new spending package ready. But when citizen investigators start tracing where the money actually goes, suddenly the problem is the cameraman.
The Bigger Fight: Citizens vs. the Protected Class
One side goes to the addresses. The other side posts jokes. One side asks where the kids are, where the patients are, where the money went. The other side asks why the investigator is making them uncomfortable.
Scripture has a lot to say about dishonest scales and devouring the vulnerable. A government that cannot or will not stop obvious fraud is not compassionate. It is corrupt, incompetent, or both. Probably both.
Further Reading
• RedState: Newsom Tries to Shame Nick Shirley
• Fox 11 LA: Nick Shirley California Fraud Investigation
• California State Auditor Report 2021-123: Hospice Oversight