Notifications

Clear all

Ben Carson continues to profit from involvement with man convicted of health-care fraud

rmack · 2015-11-12T14:14:29Z

Despite his professed call for fraud of this nature to be punished by decades of prison and loss of all possessions, the "honorable" Dr. Carson begged for leniency for this POS. I thought he was just crazy - now I see he's a slimy money-grubbing hypocrite as well. Ben Carson Profits From Ties With Convicted Felon, AP Report Finds by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Republican presidential contender Ben Carson has maintained a business relationship with a close friend convicted of defrauding insurance companies and testified on his behalf, even as the candidate has called for such crimes to be punished harshly. Pittsburgh dentist Alfonso A. Costa pleaded guilty to a felony count of health care fraud after an FBI probe into his oral surgery practice found he had charged for procedures he never performed, according to court records. Though the crime carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison, Costa was able to avoid prison time after Carson helped petition a federal judge for leniency. That's different from the position Carson took in 2013 as he prepared to launch his presidential campaign, saying those convicted of health care fraud should go to prison for at least a decade and be forced to forfeit "all of one's personal possessions." At Costa's 2008 sentencing hearing, Carson described the dentist as "one my closest, if not my very closest friend." "We became friends about a decade ago because we discovered that we were so much alike and shared the same values and principles that govern our lives," Carson told the judge, adding that their families vacationed together and that they were involved in "joint projects." "Next to my wife of 32 years, there is no one on this planet that I trust more than Al Costa," Carson said. Costa has served on the board of Carson's charity, the Carson Scholars Fund, and continues to lead the charity's fundraising efforts in the Pittsburgh area to provide $1,000 college scholarships to children in need. Before his criminal conviction and the revocation of his license to practice dentistry, Costa built a multimillion-dollar fortune through commercial real estate. Investments Carson and his wife made through Costa earn the couple between $200,000 and $2 million a year, according to financial records that Carson was required to file when he declared his candidacy. Costa also continues to promote his involvement with Carson's charity as part of his real estate business, prominently featuring the logo of the Carson Scholars Fund on the company's website. His son has worked with Carson's presidential campaign and a political committee founded by the retired neurosurgeon. Doug Watts, the campaign's spokesman, said Wednesday he was unable to immediately respond to specific questions about land deals involving Carson and Costa. The AP contacted Watts on Tuesday and again Wednesday. Alfonso A. Costa pleaded guilty to a felony count of health care fraud after an FBI probe into his oral surgery practice found he had charged for procedures he never performed, according to court records. costalandco.com "I will confirm they are best friends and that they do hold business investments together," Watts said. Costa did not respond to messages seeking comment. The breadth of the two men's business ties has not been previously reported, partly because details can be obscured in property and incorporation records. Costa's company and its affiliates own properties in at least five states and overseas. In 2007, a few months before Costa was charged, records show that a pair of corporations was established in Pennsylvania called BenCan LLC, and INBS LLC. Carson and his wife are listed as the sole members of the companies. Though the Carsons live outside Baltimore, the mailing address on the incorporation forms was Costa's home address in Pittsburgh. BenCan and INBS then paid more than $3 million to purchase an office building in suburban Pittsburgh. The mailing address for the corporations listed on the deed matches the office of Costa's real estate firm, Costa Land Co. That September, federal prosecutors charged Costa, accusing him of fraud committed over a nearly five-year period, according to court records. Investigators determined that Costa's dental practice charged more than 50 patients for procedures that had not been performed, resulting in a loss of more than $40,000 to insurance companies. After Costa pleaded guilty, 40 of his family members, friends and dental patients wrote letters to the judge as character witnesses. Carson was one of three people who also testified at Costa's 2008 sentencing hearing, stressing his friend's charitable works and vouching for his personal integrity. Also testifying on Costa's behalf was Jerome Bettis, a beloved former Pittsburgh Stealers running back who had helped bring home a Super Bowl trophy to the city two years earlier. The government urged the judge to make an example of Costa. "Reduction of a sentence based on good works by a w...

Page 2 / 2 Prev

Whipping Post

Last Post by DougMacKenzie 10 years ago

48 Posts

14 Users

0 Reactions

4,339 Views

RSS

muleman1994

(@muleman1994)

Posts: 4923

Member

________________________________________________________________________

The only thing Al Gore has to hold up is his perpetuation of the global warming hoax.

BTW - my income does not come from theft from the tax-payers.

Posted : November 15, 2015 7:53 am

cortapp

(@cortapp)

Posts: 45

Eminent Member

Carson had no idea he would make it this far into the race. His slip ups come from the fact that he had not thought he would be in the race in November. After living in New Hampshire for several years and watching this play out with other candidates from both parties it has become more observable; the national scale he has made it to has been a surprise to us all. Bush will be the candidate in the end...maybe Trump will make interesting by running as an independent. Clinton clearly has the soundest mind and understanding of the world as I know it. Bernie brought out some issues that frankly none of the politicians or for that matter most Americans want to talk about (the shrinking middle class, no real wage increases for the working man since the 70s).

Posted : November 15, 2015 2:34 pm

muleman1994

(@muleman1994)

Posts: 4923

Member

Poll finds Carson tops GOP race in Colorado; top Republicans beat Clinton

Clinton trails all the top Republicans by margins of 11 percent or more. Clinton has the lowest favorability rating of any top candidate in Colorado -- just 33 percent -- while 67 percent says she is not trustworthy or honest.

As winter moves into the Rockies, Coloradans say the Democratic front-runner would get bruised and beaten by all the top GOP opponents, and absolutely crushed by Sen. Marco Rubio and Dr. Ben Carson.

November 18, 2015 - Carson Is Top Doc In Colorado Republican Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; All Top GOP Candidates Lead Clinton By Double-Digits

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/colorado/release-detail?ReleaseID=2303

Posted : November 18, 2015 8:47 am

muleman1994

(@muleman1994)

Posts: 4923

Member

_____________________________________________________________________

So, you dismiss the facts in the major independent poll?

You must suffer from Obama delusion syndrome.

Posted : November 18, 2015 10:32 am

Sang

(@sang)

Posts: 5761

Illustrious Member

The poll is only for Colorado, not exactly a swing state......

Just like many other states, they vote against their best interests...... put in someone who will want to stop legal marijuana sales - which has been a big boon to the state.....

Colorado is like many states - heavily democratic in the big cities, republican in the smaller towns.... no big surprise......

I think the national polls tell a different story (which you will somehow dismiss - LOL)

Posted : November 18, 2015 10:42 am

BillyBlastoff

(@billyblastoff)

Posts: 2450

Famed Member

Thank you. I'll edit immediately.

Posted : November 18, 2015 10:54 am

muleman1994

(@muleman1994)

Posts: 4923

Member

__________________________________________________________________________

Did you read the poll's back pages and raw data?
The poll was taken equally between registered Democrats and registered Republicans.

National polls on specific races are not being taken right now because professional independent polling organizations know that the candidates are only campaigning in the early primary voting states.

Of course if you were informed you would know this.

Posted : November 18, 2015 11:02 am

MartinD28

(@martind28)

Posts: 2855

Famed Member

Good luck with that one. When the righties yap about this, I've called them out at least a half dozen times trying to bet $100.00. Never have I gotten a taker. Tells me talk is cheap. Let those who bloviate step up to the plate. PB, I'm interested to see if any of the usual culprits will take your offer & back the trash they talk.

Posted : November 18, 2015 1:13 pm

Bhawk

(@bhawk)

Posts: 3333

Famed Member

Enough already. Stop it. Stop insulting everyone and stop making things up.

Here's the latest QUINNIPIAC NATIONAL POLL: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us11042015_xsq33a.pdf

From that poll's first paragraph:

Stop insulting everyone and stop making things up.

Posted : November 18, 2015 1:55 pm

muleman1994

(@muleman1994)

Posts: 4923

Member

________________________________________________________________________

What's the matter junior, can't take it?

When shots are taken at me I do fire back.
If you are too wimpy to take it that is your problem son.

Posted : November 18, 2015 1:59 pm

Bhawk

(@bhawk)

Posts: 3333

Famed Member

"National polls on specific races are not being taken right now because professional independent polling organizations know that the candidates are only campaigning in the early primary voting states."

> http://www.quinnipiac.edu/images/polling/us/us11042015_xsq33a.pdf <

Posted : November 18, 2015 2:13 pm

muleman1994

(@muleman1994)

Posts: 4923

Member

__________________________________________________________________________

A poll of 1.144 people in 9 States does not qualify as a "national poll"

Posted : November 18, 2015 2:53 pm

2112

(@2112)

Posts: 2464

Famed Member

It's clear that the Republicans now love Ben Carson more than ever now that he has been shown to be a liar and best friend to a felon. He clearly fits in with the Republican party now more than ever.

Posted : November 18, 2015 2:56 pm

Swifty

(@swifty)

Posts: 401

Reputable Member

You might work on those reading lessons.

Posted : November 18, 2015 6:38 pm

muleman1994

(@muleman1994)

Posts: 4923

Member

________________________________________________________________________

You have resorted to editing the text?

The actual Quinnipiac poll report lists the specific nine States they polled.

Posted : November 21, 2015 3:28 pm

Swifty

(@swifty)

Posts: 401

Reputable Member

Then cite the methodology they use to turn a sample of nine states into a nationwide poll.

Posted : November 21, 2015 3:58 pm

muleman1994

(@muleman1994)

Posts: 4923

Member

_____________________________________________________________________

They polled in 9 States, only 1,144 people.

Just because you don't like the results that is still not a national poll.

Posted : November 21, 2015 4:26 pm

DougMacKenzie

(@dougmackenzie)

Posts: 582

Honorable Member

Actually, that number of people from that many states, if they are selected randomly, is a plenty large enough sample, especially with that margin of error cited, to be considered a nationwide poll. I agree with a previous post in that I don't think Carson, or Trump fro that matter, truly expected to still be in the race, let alone as front runners. IMO, Carson is starting to lookout of his depth on foreign policy issues, and Trump is really starting to sound extreme with some orf his recent comments about registering Muslims and closing mosques. The scary part is that his poll numbers went up when he did so. Interesting time in which we live.

You guys are sure using a lot of bandwidth to call each other the same names over and over again. Grin

Posted : November 22, 2015 4:09 am

Page 2 / 2 Prev

75 Forums
15 K Topics
192.1 K Posts
5 Online
24.7 K Members

Forum Icons: Forum contains no unread posts Forum contains unread posts

Topic Icons: Not Replied Replied Active Hot Sticky Unapproved Solved Private Closed