Governor Files Complaint against Oz after His ‘Baseless and Racist’ Attacks on Calif. Armenians

In his official complaint letter, Governor Newsom wrote: “Such racially charged and false public statements by anyone involved in administering these critical federal healthcare programs seriously risk chilling participation in those programs by individuals targeted by the statements. They also reflect discriminatory animus, and reveal a discriminatory motive that could infect how investigations of alleged fraud are conducted. The risk of those harms is compounded when the statements came from the top decision maker at CMS. Additionally, Dr. Oz’s comments have already caused real world harm, as the bakery targeted by his comments reported a 30% drop in sales after this video’s release.”

California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis stated that she “agrees 1,000% with the action Gov. Newsom has taken in response to the outrageous actions of Dr. Oz, who clearly seeks to disparage and stigmatize an entire community, the vast majority of whom are proud, law-abiding American citizens. Oz should be ashamed of himself, but sadly, he probably isn’t.”

ANCA Suit

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) also filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over Oz’s comments.

The complaint, filed on January 30, builds on immediate ANCA mobilization following Dr. Oz’s January 27-28 posting of a video on official Health and Human Services social media accounts that ethnically profiled Armenian-owned businesses in Los Angeles’ Van Nuys neighborhood. ANCA’s swift response triggered a cascade of condemnation from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who filed his own civil rights complaint, and Congressional, state, and local leaders who denounced the ethnic scapegoating. Oz serves as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Within minutes of Dr. Oz posting his video, ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian publicly called out this discriminatory conduct: “Dr. Oz is painting Armenians with a broad brush, tarring our entire Armenian American community for the alleged crimes of a few individuals. This sort of ethnic scapegoating against Americans of Armenian heritage is as toxic as it is dangerous, all the more so when done by a dual Turkish citizen – an unapologetic genocide denier who served proudly in Turkey’s armed forces. More evidence that the ANCA was right to keep Dr. Oz out of the U.S. Senate in 2022.”

ANCA Policy Director Alex Galitsky responded that Oz was “targeting the Armenian community with the same vile dehumanizing rhetoric we saw fuel the collective punishment of Minnesota’s Somalian community,” a statement picked up by the New York Post.

The ANCA Western Region swiftly condemned Oz’s actions in an official statement. “Public officials carry a special responsibility to uphold both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution,” stated Oshin Harootoonian, Chairman of ANCA’s Western Region, in remarks covered by CBS News. “When enforcement rhetoric drifts toward ethnic generalizations, it weakens civil rights protections and puts entire communities at risk. Armenian Americans, like all Americans, deserve equal justice under law – nothing less.”

Hamparian told the Associated Press (AP) that Oz’s comments invoke stereotypes about the Armenian community, which has deep roots in California, adding: “Things have been dealt with at the state level, prosecutions have been made. But Dr. Oz is taking this in an entirely destructive direction by scapegoating, by fear-mongering, by staging the theatric collective indictment of all Armenians.”

Hamparian told USA Today that Oz was trying to bully a group with deep roots in California. “I think he’ll find that we’re not a group you can bully,” he said.

Like Governor Newsom’s complaint, the ANCA filing charges that Oz’s statements and conduct violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance. Armenian Americans constitute a protected class under Title VI on the basis of shared ancestry and national origin.

“These actions, made while overseeing and publicly representing federally funded health programs (Medicare and Medicaid), risk chilling participation, access, and trust in those programs among Armenian Americans,” the ANCA complaint states.

The complaint requests that OCR investigate whether Dr. Oz’s statements and video constitute national origin discrimination or create a hostile environment in HHS-funded programs; require appropriate corrective actions, including public clarification, staff training on nondiscrimination, removal or amendment of the video if warranted, and measures to prevent recurrence by federal officials; and issue findings and take any necessary enforcement action consistent with Title VI and HHS policies.

Congressional Leaders Condemn Ethnic Profiling

US Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) declared: “Dr. Oz’s demonization of Armenian Americans and targeting of their small businesses is racist and must end. Attacking fraud does not require bigoted attacks on an entire community.” Senator Schiff pledged to work with federal and state partners to conduct oversight and an independent review of the racial profiling.

Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) called the comments “deeply irresponsible and harmful” and stated: “It’s a desperate ploy to scapegoat a community that has given so much to the fabric of American life, and an attempt to mimic Trump’s efforts to vilify entire ethnic or racial groups.” Fellow Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Brad Sherman (D-CA) called Dr. Oz’s rhetoric “abhorrent and discriminatory – but unfortunately unsurprising given his long history of denying the Armenian genocide.”

Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) declared: “You flew across the country to film yourself pointing at Armenian-owned businesses in Los Angeles. That’s not a fraud investigation – it’s ethnic profiling.”  Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) asserted: “Dr. Oz’s comments targeting the Armenian American community are racist and reinforce harmful rhetoric used against Armenians for too long. Filming himself outside Armenian-owned businesses and spreading false narratives is ethnic scapegoating that puts all Armenian Americans at risk.”

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) stated: “Let’s be clear: this isn’t ‘exposing fraud’ — it’s a photo-op on a taxpayer-funded trip to LA where you stood outside Armenian-owned businesses (including a bakery) and baselessly accused them of committing health care fraud.”

Rep. Luz Rivas (D-CA) condemned “Dr. Oz’s racist remarks perpetuating harmful stereotypes about the Valley’s Armenian American community.”

Central Valley Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) noted that “Dr. Oz’s demonizing rhetoric is discriminatory toward the Armenian-American community in California” and emphasized that “his historical views against the Armenian people are being used to demonstrate how far this Administration will go to stretch the truth.”

State and Local Leaders Stand with Armenian Community

California State Assemblymember John Harabedian, who is a former prosecutor in Los Angeles County, called Oz’s video “patently ridiculous,” telling POLITICO California Playbook: “The director of Medicare and Medicaid Services is driving around Los Angeles in a limo, standing in front of a lavash bakery, saying that the entire Armenian community is some secret mafia that commits health care fraud.” Harabedian took to social media over multiple days, condemning the racist assertions. In a statement by the California Armenian Legislative Caucus Foundation, Harabedian, who chairs the group, said Oz’s remarks were both misleading and inflammatory.

California State Senator Sasha Renee Perez reposted commentary by ANCA Policy Director Alex Galitsky, stating, “This type of intimidation, harassment, and tarring of our community over the actions of a few isn’t necessary for a legitimate investigation into any real abuse – it is ethnic scapegoating par excellence, and they’re not even trying to hide it.”

Los Angeles Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, who represents the Van Nuys area where the video was shot, claimed Oz did not have “genuine concern about fraud” and called his comments “blatant racism.” “Medical fraud is serious. No one is denying that,” Councilmember Nazarian told CBS News. “Why zoom in on Armenian businesses? Couldn’t the point about one fraud case have been made without dragging an entire community into it?”

California gubernatorial candidates Ian Calderon and Xavier Becerra each strongly condemned Dr. Oz’s video.  Former California State Assembly Majority Leader Calderon posted that “Any attempt to target, stereotype, or intimidate people because of their heritage has no place in our politics or our state.”  Former Congressman Becerra, who served as Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Biden Administration, called the targeting of LA’s Armenian community “completely unacceptable. His ethnic scapegoating and baseless claims of fraud have no place here.”

Dr. Oz’s History of Armenian Genocide Denial

ANCA’s complaint notes Dr. Oz’s troubling history regarding Armenian issues. As a dual Turkish-American citizen who served in Turkey’s armed forces, Dr. Oz has consistently refused to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide – the systematic killing and deportation of 1.5 million Armenians by Turkish Ottoman Empire forces from 1915-1923.

During his 2022 Senate campaign, Dr. Oz repeatedly dodged questions about recognizing the Armenian Genocide, despite bipartisan Congressional recognition and President Biden’s official acknowledgment. His appointment to lead CMS raised immediate concerns within the Armenian-American community about potential bias in administering programs affecting Armenian Americans.

Armenian Assembly Calls Out Oz’s Statements

The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) unequivocally condemned targeted attacks on ethnic minorities and the Armenian community. In their January 28 letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Co-Chairs, Talin Yacoubian and Oscar Tatosian, categorically rejected recent remarks that selectively target Armenian Americans.

In the letter, the Assembly acknowledged the Administration’s responsibility to address waste, fraud, and abuse, while underscoring that such efforts must not rely on racism and unjust stereotyping.

The Assembly noted that Dr. Oz’s recent statements referring to “Armenian gangs” and “mafia” are “deeply troubling” and “inflicts grave injustice on Armenian Americans who have proudly served this nation and their communities with distinction,” from military service to public office and business to philanthropy.

“Let us be clear: no one condones fraud or criminal behavior of any kind,” the letter states. “But neither can we accept the painting of Armenian Americans as presumptive criminals based on ethnicity. We categorically reject this kind of racism and stereotyping and urge you to reconsider these hurtful and divisive statements.

(Material from the Guardian, the ANCA and the Armenian Assembly were used to compile this story.)