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Carson Stands by 'Best Friend' Who Committed Health Care Fraud

Carson Stands by 'Best Friend' Who Committed Health Care Fraud

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. · Thursday, November 12th 2015 at 5:29PM · 1450 views
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is standing by his "best friend" -- a dentist who pleaded guilty to health-care fraud a few years before Carson advocated a no-mercy policy for such crimes.

Carson and Al Costa have been buddies for nearly two decades. Costa serves on the board of the Carson Scholars Fund and has helped Carson with real-estate investments that netted him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

When Costa pleaded guilty, Carson urged the judge to keep him out of prison, even though he would later declare that such offenses deserved 10-year prison sentences.


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.

"Al Costa is my best friend. Al Costa is my very best friend," Carson said in a statement on Thursday after an Associated Press report raised questions about their relationship and the apparent double standard.

"I know his heart. I am proud to call him my friend. I have always and will continue to stand by him. That is what real friends do."

The statement did not address whether Carson's views on health-care fraud changed after Costa's sentencing.

In his 2013 book "America the Beautiful," Carson said physicians who "engage in fraud" should be subject to what he called "the Saudi Arabian solution."

READ MORE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT "the Saudi Arabian solution." http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-elect...

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Comments (27)

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Friday, November 13th 2015 at 7:21PM

Ben Carson would like to stand-by a Thief, a lawbreaker, a trusted man turned criminal and a admitted crook who stole from we the people and this man, Ben Carson who wants to be a Republican Presidential hopeful is standing such a personality.

Is this all the GOP has to offer? WOW!!!

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Alona Israel Saturday, November 14th 2015 at 11:34AM

Deacon:

Corruption runs deep in America, but the paper trail always win. What is wrong with these people, didn't Barney Madoff set a good enough example? Corruption in businesses only works when a person can keep the corruptive scheme to himself. If he has to hand one document to another person for verification, that scheme is no longer secretive. Look at the various stock market crashes. Some of it was caused by inside trading and other schemes. A lot of people lot retirements, homes, businesses and saving. How did the person who started that scheme think he was going to get away with it? HE WAS IN THE STOCK MARKET!! how did he think one document was not going to get him caught. Corruption is the Devil's game of " NOW YOU HAVE IT, NOW YOU DON'T! He play this game with drug dealers all the time.

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Saturday, November 14th 2015 at 4:13PM

Well said Sister Israel, well said.

Ben Carson is a joke and Caucasian women love him, for right now, the Donald I had a meltdown over last night, did you see it?



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Alona Israel Saturday, November 14th 2015 at 4:16PM

No, where can I see it?

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Saturday, November 14th 2015 at 9:39PM

Here you go... Donald Trump Goes Off On Ben Carson For 9 Whole Minutes in Iowa (11-12-15) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI279UvRK9...

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Alona Israel Sunday, November 15th 2015 at 6:58AM

Deacon:

Trump is a nut. He takes the word and uses it like it's a bad thing. He'll have to do better than that. He's just making desperate moves for desperate times. Pathology is a severe study of disease, you can't catch it. Trump is trying to hard and this is obvious to those of intellect.

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Sunday, November 15th 2015 at 7:58PM

See what I mean... Would you want his finger on the button?

I don't

Steve Williams Sunday, November 15th 2015 at 9:09PM

What a shame to sideline a black man just because he's not a good little liberal.

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Sunday, November 15th 2015 at 9:32PM

It's about the company the Ben is keeping and not about liberalism at all.

Steve Williams Monday, November 16th 2015 at 6:17AM

You're looking for excuses. It comes down to Black folks are expected to be Democrats.

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Monday, November 16th 2015 at 7:07AM

No Steve, Voting is about putting people in office who best represents your best interest.


Why would a person who is benefiting from social security vote someone in who wants to cut those benefits?


That is what I call, voting g against your best interest WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THAT?

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Monday, November 16th 2015 at 7:13AM

No Steve, Voting is about putting people in office who best represents your best interest.


Why would a person who is benefiting from social security vote someone in who wants to cut those benefits?


That is what I call, voting g against your best interest WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THAT?

Ben Carson is standing by a admitted theft that took millions of dollars from and I, the tx payer of American.


I know that you are not calling ben a good man, are you?

Steve Williams Monday, November 16th 2015 at 7:23AM

He seems like a good man compared to Hillary.

Steve Williams Monday, November 16th 2015 at 7:25AM

Why do people conform themselves to the Democratic or Republican mold?

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Monday, November 16th 2015 at 9:09AM

Your Words: He seems like a good man compared to Hillary.

How so Steve?


Steve Williams Monday, November 16th 2015 at 9:29AM

Hillary put the country's security at risk and won't acknowledge it. Ben Carson wouldn't do that.

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Alona Israel Monday, November 16th 2015 at 10:52AM

All politicians talk out the side of their month with their foot in it. You can't trust none of them. Everyone should look at them with peripheral vision. Presidents are just puppets on a string to the Dept. of Treasury, New York Stock Market, Bank of America and other TOO RICH TO CONTROL companies. It don't matter if they are Republican or Democrate, they need to do what is right and the benefit to the whole country. Otherwise, they are USELESS!!

Steve Williams Monday, November 16th 2015 at 11:28AM

That's why we need to vote third-party.

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Monday, November 16th 2015 at 11:41AM

How Steve, Benghazi?

Sister Israel, there maybe some similarities with big banks and Wall Street but when it comes to the economy for the poor and the middle classes, it has been proven with history to back this statement up, to do better under a democratic administration than a republican one. Just look at the different between the BUSH Admin and the Obama Admin.

Look at the states with Republican governors, those states are in trouble financially.

In short I will want a democrat in office than a Republican.

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Monday, November 16th 2015 at 11:47AM

Ben Carson is standing by a self admitted convicted theft that stole stole millions of dollars from the tax payers, now what is good about that?

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Alona Israel Monday, November 16th 2015 at 1:11PM

What can I say we just have to have faith and hope for the best no matter who wins. Politics make strange bed feathers especially after washing in the cotton cycle.

Steve Williams Monday, November 16th 2015 at 11:53PM

Ron, what Hillary did was equivalent to sending her official communications by USPS.

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Thursday, November 19th 2015 at 2:25PM

Steven,

I see that you have no answer to questions that I have asked you.

Now you want to switch from this topic / person to, another person. What happen to your boy, that you was backing for the GOP presidential nominee, you know, your boy Rand which his program never did get off the ground?

Now, it seems like you are taken flight from Ben Carson, which people are taken a long look at the company that he keep's, as he stands by a known felon that was convicted of taken tax payer money for his own ill gotten gain. Ben Carson has now fallen to third place in the polls and I predict, that he will soon drop out of sight.

By the way Steven, have you heard from him lately?

Now, you want to talk about Hillary, OK! let's talk about Hillary! don't you remember that she endured 11 hours of intense questioning on this subject an came out smelling like a rose, to some frustrated GOP members who tried to throw the book and the kitchen sink at her, don't you remember, I DO!!! (LOL)

Steve Williams Thursday, November 19th 2015 at 2:33PM

How many times have I told you Ron, it's not about Benghazi?

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Thursday, November 19th 2015 at 3:23PM

The E-mailgate was brought up there to and Hillary still came out smelling like a rose.



Steve Williams Thursday, November 19th 2015 at 3:56PM

Let's see if the FBI thinks she smells like a rose.

Dea. Ron Gray Sr. Thursday, November 19th 2015 at 9:38PM

So far, so good!!!!

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