GOP AG candidate accuses Letitia James of ignoring Medicaid fraud

Republican New York attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy is making Medicaid fraud the centerpiece of her campaign, claiming prosecutions have dropped sharply under Attorney General Letitia James.

Preventing Medicaid fraud has become a flashpoint in the country after investigators uncovered billions of dollars in alleged fraud tied to public assistance programs in Minnesota. The scandal has prompted the Trump administration to make fighting fraud a higher priority, with Vice President J.D. Vance leading a federal effort. Now, Republican candidates in races across the country, including New York’s race for attorney general, are calling on states to do more to investigate Medicaid fraud and recover taxpayer money.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Komatireddy accused James of failing to aggressively pursue Medicaid fraud and said taxpayers could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries.

“They are completely failing to investigate Medicaid fraud, and you can only look at that based on the records of Letitia James and her Democratic predecessors,” Komatireddy said. “This is not a partisan issue.”

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Komatireddy said Medicaid fraud recoveries have plummeted under James, falling from $168 million in 2019, his first year in office, to just $31 million in 2024. data From the annual reports of the New York Attorney General.

Before James took office, New York attorneys general routinely prosecuted some of the nation’s largest Medicaid frauds. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, under Eliot Spitzer, recovered $243.6 million in 2006. Andrew Cuomo’s office subsequently recovered $113.8 million in 2007, $263.5 million in 2008, and $283 million in 2009; that totaled more than $660 million in his first three years as attorney general. And Cuomo’s successor, Eric Schneiderman, raised more than $335 million in 2012; this was the second-highest annual total in the unit’s history and the highest recovery in seven years.

“Even their Democratic predecessors were generating $200 million to $300 million a year in fraudulent revenue,” Komatireddy said. “When Tish James took office, it was down to $20 million to $30 million a year. According to her own year-end reports, she decided not to do that part of the business.”

ALEX BERENSON: MINNESOTA WAS JUST THE BEGINNING: NEW YORK’S MEDICAID SCAM IS MUCH WORSE

Republican candidate for New York Attorney General Saritha Komatireddy holds a press conference with state GOP lawmakers about improving public transportation safety in New York on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at West Capitol Park in Albany, NY (Will Waldron/Albany Times Union via Getty Images))

While New York has recovered less money each year from Medicaid fraud under James, the state’s spending on its fraud recovery program has also increased. augmentedIt will grow from approximately $45 million in fiscal 2020 to $70 million in 2025.

“It used to be that the New York Attorney General’s Office would get about 100 criminal convictions a year and hold people accountable for stealing from Medicaid,” Komatireddy said. he said. “Under Tish James, that number is very low. He had eight criminal convictions in one year.”

New York’s fight against Medicaid fraud has also drawn the attention of the federal government. Earlier this year, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul asking for more information about how the state inspects providers and combats fraud. Oz said the review is intended to help protect Medicaid beneficiaries and maintain public confidence in the program. New York was one of three states to receive the letter, along with California and Minnesota.

READ: Dr. ÖZ PORTERS 50 GOVERNORS FOR OVER BILLIONS OF DOLLARS LOST DUE TO MEDICAID FRAUD

Komatireddy said reducing enforcement ultimately costs New Yorkers by increasing health care spending and reducing available funds for other state priorities.

“New Yorkers are paying the price for this, because when people steal from Medicaid, it increases our healthcare costs,” he said. “When we let a billion dollars go out the door during his tenure, that’s money we can get back as taxpayers.”

Instead, Komatireddy said lawmakers are forced to raise additional revenue from taxpayers.

New York Attorney General Letitia James stands silently during a news conference at the New York Attorney General’s office on December 15, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“People in Albany continue to think of new ways to get more money from taxpayers,” he said. “If you had an attorney general who actually prosecuted fraud properly, you wouldn’t have to worry about tax increases.”

Komatireddy promised to strengthen the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit by adding 20 criminal prosecutors.

Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor who spent more than a decade with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and later served as chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, framed the race as a choice between a career law enforcement prosecutor and an incompetent official.

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“Like I said, we really just have to do the attorney general job,” Henry said. “This work involves the prosecution of crime and fraud.”

The New York Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.