Attorney General Aaron Ford, criticized by Gov. Joe Lombardo and one of the governor’s legislative allies for acting on only 40% of Medicaid fraud referrals sent to his office, is taking on twice the share of cases as the average of all states, according to federal data.
First-term Republican Assemblyman Blayne Osborn wrote the Nevada Health Authority this month, inquiring about Ford’s recent assertion that his office won $40.9 million in restitution and costs from Medicaid fraud prosecutions “over the last few years.”
Ford, a Democrat, is challenging Lombardo, a Republican, in the gubernatorial race.
In a July 9 news release, Osborn questioned, among other things, “why only approximately 40 percent of referrals are accepted for criminal prosecution” by Ford’s Medicaid Fraud Case Unit, a division that exists in every state.
But nationally, according to the U.S. Inspector General, Medicaid fraud units took in a total of 5,991 referrals in 2025 from Managed Care Organizations and accepted 1,134 for prosecution, or just under 19%, less than half the 40% share of referrals Ford’s office has accepted during his two terms.
The response contact listed on Osborne’s release was an email address for Red Rock Strategies, a political consulting firm that works with the reelection campaign of Lombardo.
Two hours after Osborne’s email release, the Republican Governors Association issued a release stating Ford “is letting waste, fraud, and abuse run rampant on Medicaid.”
Ford’s campaign contends Lombardo was in cahoots with Osborn, noting that just minutes after the governor received a response from the Nevada Health Authority to Osborn’s inquiry, “a pro-Lombardo poll went out…pointing to illegal coordination between the state government and the Lombardo campaign,” said a release from Ford’s campaign.
The Nevada Health Authority says it has no information on what share of fraud referrals the AG’s office has historically accepted from the state for prosecution.
Osborn declined to say what share of referrals Ford’s office should be taking on. “I’m not implying that there should be a set number to put on the cases that should be prosecuted,” he said via email.
The Nevada Attorney General office’s Medicaid Fraud Case Unit has about 20 people, says Deputy Attorney General Andrew Schulke, and not all, he notes, are attorneys and investigators.
While the unit gets the bulk of referrals from the Nevada Health Authority, that’s not the only source.
“What was very much missing from that (Osborn’s messaging) was the referrals we also receive from the managed care organizations and entities that essentially are contracted with Nevada Medicaid,” Schulke said of groups that receive lump sums to provide services to Medicaid recipients. They, too, refer potential fraud to the AG.
Schulke, who has been rooting out fraud for the AG’s office for two decades, on behalf of Republican and Democratic leaders, says the unit’s ability to take on twice the percentage share of cases as the national average speaks to its effectiveness.
Fraud cases are not easy to prove. Prosecutors must show the defendant intended to benefit and knowingly made false representations or submitted a false claim.
“We do as much as we can, but we want to do more,” Schulke said, adding the office intends to ask the Legislature to expand the unit by 25%. “I understand Medicaid fraud is a hot topic issue, both nationally and obviously in our state. I want to use the attention to expand my unit to hold these providers that are committing fraud accountable.”
Lombardo’s campaign joined Osborn in questioning the veracity of Ford’s assertion that he’s won more than $40 million in Medicaid fraud judgments and why the money has not been turned over to the state and federal government.
“One of the worst kept secrets around the Capitol is that Aaron Ford may be overstating his record,” Lombardo campaign spokesperson Halee Dobbins said in a news release.
Schulke confirmed the office has won $40.9 million during Ford’s administration.
He attributes Osborn’s potential confusion on the return of court-awarded money to the state and federal government to Ford misspeaking during an interview in which he said the office had recovered, rather than been awarded, $40.9 million.
“It’s court-ordered amounts,” Schulke clarified, adding such awards are rarely fully collected in Nevada or other states. “It’s the nature of my fraudsters that I have to deal with. A lot of times, they are either spending that money as quickly as it comes in, or transferring it down some rabbit hole so that we can’t even find it.”
The problem is not unique to Nevada, he notes.
The Nevada Health Authority says it does not know how much Ford’s predecessor, Adam Laxalt, won in Medicaid fraud judgments or how much of it was recovered and returned to the state or federal government.
The Nevada Current was able to identify through news releases a little more than $5 million awarded during Laxalt’s single term.
‘Fraud Takedown’
Osborn’s inquiry comes as President Donald Trump embarks on a National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which is focused on “rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.”
In March, Trump issued an executive order establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which is chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.
In May, Ford and other Democratic attorneys general turned down what Ford called a last minute invitation from Vice President J.D. Vance to attend a meeting of his anti-fraud task force.
In May, as part of Trump’s “takedown,” the Dept. of Health and Human Services enacted a six-month pause on Medicaid hospice and home-health enrollment. In June, the Nevada Health Authority announced “a temporary pause on new state licenses for hospice and home-health providers.”
Nevada is home to roughly 575,000 senior citizens who make up about 17.5% of the population, and are increasingly reliant on home-health care in order to remain in their homes as they age.
“Protecting taxpayer dollars and preserving access to quality healthcare services for Nevadans requires us to confront fraud head-on. Bad actors who use hospice and home-health programs as vehicles to steal public funds are undermining care for those who need it most,” Lombardo said in a news release, supporting the Authority’s action.