Assumption Parish man charged with government benefits fraud
Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Lenroy Brown, 53, of Paincourtville, was arrested Tuesday, June 10. An investigation started after Louisiana Bureau of Investigation agents received a complaint from the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) on Dec. 11, 2023, regarding an allegation of Medicaid fraud.
According to an affidavit, Brown earned a total of $169,772.67 from April 2021 to March 2023 in wages that weren't disclosed to LDH and fraudulently obtained $16,758.03 in Medicaid benefits.
Brown was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a charge of government benefits fraud.
The attorney general's office said an investigation is ongoing.
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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Poll: Nearly 70% of Americans — including a majority of Republicans — think the government is hiding something about Jeffrey Epstein
About a quarter believe the well-connected sex offender committed suicide. Twice as many think he was murdered. Bipartisanship is rare in U.S. politics these days. But according to a new Yahoo/YouGov poll, there's now at least one thing that more than two-thirds of Americans seem to agree on: that the government is 'hiding' information about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The survey of 1,729 U.S. adults, which was conducted from July 24 to 28, shows that a clear consensus has formed across party lines about how the government has handled the questions surrounding Epstein's life and death. When respondents are told that President Trump's Justice Department has 'concluded that Epstein did not have a 'client list' of famous associates who engaged in wrongdoing with him,' 69% of them still say the government is 'hiding information about Epstein's client list.' That group includes a majority of Republicans (55%). Just 8% of Americans, meanwhile, say the government isn't concealing information about a client list. About a quarter of U.S. adults (23%) believe the Justice Department's conclusion that Epstein died by suicide after hanging himself in jail. The rest think Epstein was murdered (47%) or say they're not sure what happened (30%). Nearly as many Republicans (42%) as Democrats (51%) believe Epstein was killed. As a result, nearly seven in 10 Americans (67%) say the government is hiding information about Epstein's death. Again, that group includes a majority of Republicans (52%). What do people think is going on? About half of Americans (48%) — including 81% of Democrats and 53% of independents — think the government is hiding information about Epstein's client list 'because it would implicate Trump.' Even among Republicans, 13% say the same and 16% say they're unsure. The new Yahoo/YouGov poll comes amid ongoing right-wing backlash over how the administration has handled its investigation into Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial for allegedly paying dozens of teenage girls, some as young as 14, to perform sex acts. The disgraced financier has long been the focus of conspiracy theories that claim he was murdered to conceal the names of powerful people on a secret 'client list.' During the 2024 campaign, Trump said he would consider releasing additional government files on Epstein. Then, after returning to the White House, he directed the Justice Department to conduct an exhaustive review of any evidence it had collected. Earlier this month, the DOJ and FBI released a two-page joint memo concluding that Epstein had 'committed suicide in his cell" and compiled no such 'client list' — echoing previous findings by the Biden administration. The move enraged some Trump loyalists, who accused the president and his administration of breaking their promise to release all of the Epstein files. It also put the spotlight back on Trump's own relationship with Epstein. Speaking to reporters Monday in Scotland, Trump said he never visited Epstein's notorious private island, even when given the chance. 'I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn him down,' Trump said. 'But a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island.' Low marks for the administration's approach For the president, the Epstein controversy now seems to be creating a credibility gap with the public — including some of his own supporters. Just 21% of Americans approve of the way the president is handling the investigation, his lowest rating this year on any individual issue; nearly three times as many (61%) disapprove. 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Miami Herald
5 hours ago
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Florida's GOP now has an opportunity to renew commitment to family values
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USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Woman accused of buying Lamborghini, plastic surgery with Medicaid fraud funds
A woman dubbed the "Medicaid millionaire from Slidell" has been arrested after officials said she lied about her income to get Medicaid, which allegedly paid for luxury vehicles and plastic surgery. Candace M. Taylor, 35, was arrested on Monday, July 28 in connection with a government benefits fraud scheme, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a news release. Taylor's arrest comes after someone with the state's Department of Health filed a complaint with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, the attorney general's office said. She allegedly spent the money between 2021 and 2024, according to the attorney general's office. She was booked on July 28 into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, and the investigation is ongoing, the attorney general's office added. As of Thursday, July 31, it is unclear whether Taylor retained a defense attorney. Where did the money go? According to Murrill's announcement of the charges, Taylor allegedly: She also shared proof of her purchases on social media, the attorney general's office said. How did authorities find out about Taylor's alleged purchases? The Louisiana Department of Health contacted the criminal investigative division of the state's Department of Justice with a complaint about Taylor's behavior, informing them that she committed Medicaid Recipient Fraud. According to the state Department of Health, Taylor underreported her income to receive Medicaid benefits. The attorney general's office said the timeline looked like this: Taylor's multiple businesses generated over $9M What helped authorities piece the case together was looking at Taylor's tax records and social media. Once investigators subpoenaed her tax records from the Louisiana Department of Revenue, agents learned she had bought a Lamborghini and paid for other luxury items and services, the attorney general's office said. In 2020, despite being approved for Medicaid and claiming no income, Taylor's accounts showed deposits of $480,994.09, and over $325,000 of that came from her businesses, the attorney general's office said. Between January 2020 and December 2024, Taylor's businesses generated over $9.5 million in revenue, according to Murrill's office. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
