The latest victim of Planned Parenthood’s thieving appears to be none other than the California government.
A former Vice President of Finance for the L.A. affiliate, P. Victor Gonzales, has filed a whistleblower suit in federal court, claiming that Planned Parenthood committed years of fraudulent overbilling against government-
funded programs. Gonzales submitted documents spanning the late 1990s to 2004, including a series of audits, which suggest that
the nation’s biggest abortion merchant may have swindled upward of $180 million from California taxpayers.
Gonzales says he was fired in 2004 after repeated attempts to address the “illegal accounting, billing, and donation practices of Planned Parenthood” with his supervisors.
According to Gonzales’s attorney, Planned Parenthood manipulated its status as a charitable organization in order to buy contraceptives at a discounted rate, then billed the state’s Medi-Cal program for 12 times as much as it paid.
The Los Angeles Times obtained copies of the 2004 audit, which substantiates over $5.2 million in overbillings at the San Diego branch during fiscal year 2003 alone.
In total, the overcharging is said to exceed $10,000,000 a year.
In addition to the birth control scam, Gonzales also claims that the Los Angeles branch violated the IRS code that prohibits political advocacy from charitable organizations by forwarding about $12,000 a month to the Sacramento branch for “lobbying” expenses.
At least one PPLA executive used a corporate credit card to make Victoria’s Secret and private video purchases on the government’s dime.
And the list of alleged abuses goes on.
Although the suit was filed in 2005, it was made public on Friday–much to the dismay of the PP spokesmen, who were already facing a public relations nightmare after tape recordings revealed that employees agreed to accept racially-motivated donations.
We can only hope that California responds swiftly to investigate this charge of gross exploitation of taxpayer dollars.
Regardless of the outcome, we urge the state to move quickly, as Virginia has done, to de-fund Planned Parenthood and end its relentless cycle of exploitation against women, children, and taxpayers!
[FRC, 11Mar08]
Lawsuit: California Planned Parenthood Overcharged State Millions for Birth Control.
A former Planned Parenthood official has filed a lawsuit against affiliates in California saying they overcharged the state hundreds of millions of dollars on birth control.
P. Victor Gonzalez says the abortion business fired him because he raised concerns about the illegal practices.
Gonzalez says his own internal audit estimates that Planned parenthood overcharged California taxpayers for purchasing birth control by at least $180 million.
He was the vice president of finance and administration for Planned Parenthood of Los Angles and, according to a Los Angeles Times report, the overbilling began in the late 1990s.
While other public health facilities and private facilities charged the state between $8 and $9 for a cycle of birth control pills, Planned Parenthood charged almost $12.
The Planned Parenthood charge to the California government was several times more than it paid for the drugs originally.
That practice occurred until former state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara sponsored legislation allowing Planned Parenthood to charge more based on concerns the abortion business presented her that it would suffer financial problems without it.
However, altering the statute didn’t address the billing practices prior to it and the Times says a 2003 state audit found at least $5.2 million in overbilling in 2003 alone from just one of the nine California Planned Parenthood affiliates.
Gonzalez’s attorney Jack Schuler told the Times that Medi-Cal officials first noticed the problems in 1997 and that Planned Parenthood received two separate letters at that time pointing out the problems.
However, the Times says state officials now say Planned Parenthood was given conflicting information on billing practices.
They say Planned Parenthood does not need to repay the millions it overcharged state taxpayers.
Still, Gonzalez wants the abortion business to be held accountable for firing him for doing his job and pointing out that it was breaking the law.
“Contrary to their national reputation as a prominent charity organization and as a healthcare provider for reproductive services, there is probable cause to believe Planned Parenthood’s … California affiliates have systematically engaged in fraudulent overbilling against government funded programs,” the lawsuit says.
The Times indicates Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California spokeswoman Ana Sandoval refused to comment on the lawsuit saying she hadn’t seen it.
Though details of it became public only recently after the courts originally sealed it, Gonzales filed the suit three years ago.
[9Mar08, Ertelt, Los Angeles, CA LifeNews.com]