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Seedco: Obamacare's Fraud-Stained Navigators
Townhall.com ^ | October 2, 2013 | Michelle Malkin

Posted on 10/02/2013 4:38:57 AM PDT by Kaslin

Welcome to ObamaWreck! Americans nationwide spent Tuesday struggling with the much-hyped "Affordable Care Act" health insurance exchanges. Server meltdowns, error messages and security glitches plagued the federal and state government websites as open enrollment began. But when taxpayers discover exactly who will be navigating them through the bureaucratic maze, they may be glad they didn't get through.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius controls a $54 million slush fund to hire thousands of "navigators," "in-person assisters" and counselors, who are now propagandizing and recruiting Obamacare recipients into the government-run exchanges. As I warned in May, the Nanny State navigator corps is a serious threat to Americans' privacy. Background checks and training requirements are minimal to nonexistent. A history of fraud is no barrier to entry.

Case in point: the seedy nonprofit Seedco. This community-organizing group snagged lucrative multimillion-dollar navigator contracts in Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee and New York. The New York Post reports this week that the outfit "is partnering with dozens of agencies, such as the Gay Men's Health Crisis, Food Bank for New York City and the Chinese American Planning Council, in each of (the Big Apple's) five boroughs." They'll have access to potential enrollees' income levels, birthdates, addresses, eligibility for government assistance, Social Security numbers and intensely personal medical information.

Given the enormous responsibility to handle sensitive data in a careful, neutral manner, combined with the overwhelming pressure to boost Obamacare enrollments, you'd think the feds would only choose navigators with the most impeccable records. Yet, less than a year ago, Seedco agreed to settle a civil fraud lawsuit "for faking at least 1,400 of 6,500 job placements under a $22.2 million federally funded contract with the city."

Seedco's corrupt behavior went far beyond defrauding taxpayers through abuse of New York City programs, federal Labor Department funding and federal stimulus dollars. Seedco (which stands for "Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation") tried to destroy and defame whistleblowing official Bill Harper, who discovered and reported the rampant falsification of data.

First, Seedco denied the charges; next, they trashed Harper's reputation in the pages of The New York Times. Only after the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan brought suit did the organization acknowledge systemic, repeated wrongdoing. Seedco forked over a $1.7 million settlement in December 2012. Mere months later, they were racking up federal Obamacare navigator work.

The feds and Seedco assure us that new management is in place. They rearranged some deck chairs, created a new "compliance program" and hired an independent reviewer. But an ethos of by-any-means-necessary book-cooking and a culture of intimidating whistleblowers don't disappear overnight. Seedco shredded documents for three years to phony up their job placement statistics; city government overseers knew about it. The Nonprofit Quarterly noted that Seedco's fraud was "kind of breathtaking" in its "creativity and illegal audacity," including:

--"Taking credit for a job candidate's prior employment as job placements;

--Reporting job placements when the job candidates remained unemployed;

--Falsifying dates of job placements;

--Using other Seedco programs to collect information on clients in order to falsely report job placements; and

--Reporting job placements for people who were not Seedco clients and had not been placed in their jobs by Seedco."

The feds detailed how Seedco managers would instruct clerical workers to troll Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com for resumes and then "report the employment of individuals sourced from those downloaded resumes as job placements." Other employees exploited their relationships with businesses to "gather information from the businesses' current employees. Seedco then used that information to falsely report that employment as a job placement obtained for the candidate by Seedco, although the individuals had no prior relationship with Seedco and had not been recruited into the job by Seedco."

This entire government-nonprofit alliance rests on dragooning as many people as possible into government programs, including food stamps, CHIP (the federal Children's Health Insurance Program) and now Obamacare. One of Seedco's officials actually said the fraud case "made us a stronger organization." Yes, they actually sold their deliberate number-fudging as an asset instead of a liability. And four states swallowed the pitch whole. The spirit of fraud-stained ACORN and its Nanny State progeny lives.

So, buyers, beware: Obamacare security "glitches" are not just a bug. They're a feature.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: 0bamacare; 0bamacaretrainwreck; 0carenightmare; aca; corruption; democrats; exchanges; fraud; healthcare; michellemalkin; navigators; obamacare; seedco; technology
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To: Kaslin; All

And no one from any deptartment commissioned to investigate any of these alligations will do anything to verify, much less prosecute anyone if fraud is determined...

Elections have consequences...


21 posted on 10/02/2013 6:32:59 AM PDT by stevie_d_64 (It's not the color of one's skin that offends people...it's how thin it is.)
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To: Girlene
Obozocare--- the new ACORN, but now it has access to such more more of your personal/private information.....

HERE'S HOW TO MIDDLE FINGER THE OBAMACARE BUMS

A West Virginia nonprofit has turned down a federal grant it received to help residents navigate new health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act after it received an inquiry from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey about how it would protect consumer information. Clarksburg-based West Virginia Parent Training Inc. did not respond to a letter it received from Morrisey directing it to answer 26 questions about the group's personnel and hiring practices, including employee background checks and employee monitoring programs, the Sunday Gazette-Mail (http://bit.ly/17M1QVe) reported. (Excerpt) Read more at sanluisobispo.com ...

YOUR TURN--Contact your state AG---ask him/her to issue a letter of inquiry to groups receiving federal "Navigator" grants. The inquiry should center on questions WRT how the group intends to protect consumer data.

In particular, the questionnaire should ask if the tax-funded "Navigator" program intends to transfer personal/ financial/medical data of the insured to the local/county/national Democrat Party, relevant Unions, banks, investment companies, drug companies, insurance companies. Trial Lawyers' associations and whether "Navigators" have sub rosa contracts with these, and other groups, plan to profit, to provide significant info to enrich databases for pecuniary purposes.

The AG also needs to confirm (1) whether the "navigator" was ever convicted of a felony....... and....(2) whether the "navigator" can be bonded.

Most importantly demand that your AG enforce the requirement that "Navigators" must have a state insurance license (consists of a comprehensive test on all aspects of insurance and compels a background check).

=================================================

PROTECT YOURSELF---Obamacare is easy pickins for identity thieves. Steps to take to minimize risk of identity theft:

1. Contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490

2. Order a tax account transcript from the IRS that verifies basic personal data along with details of your tax return filed, which may come in handy if you are checking to see whether someone else filed a fraudulent return on your behalf

The Federal Trade Commission (link at website) also lists several steps you must take if you have been a victim of identity theft.

SOURCE http://www.cnbc.com/id/100918004

22 posted on 10/02/2013 6:35:22 AM PDT by Liz
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To: Liz
Who would have thought that Hoffa would be just another useful idiot to push aside after the fascist takeover.

D@mn..these people are really, really stupid.

Obama and his Castro loving elites had better be ready to get out their firing squad for their former "buddies".

Bus..anyone for a magic bus?

23 posted on 10/02/2013 6:36:36 AM PDT by Earthdweller (Harvard won the election again...so what's the problem.......? Embrace a ruler today.)
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt
In most states, insurance salesmen have to be licensed, and bonded (process inflicts penalties in cases of theft /fraud). The licensing procedure may also include a background check. W/ The Abominable Federal ObamaCrap, there is no licensing, just a cursory 20-hour online course.

Good points---see post #22.

24 posted on 10/02/2013 6:43:29 AM PDT by Liz
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To: Liz

25 posted on 10/02/2013 6:48:56 AM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: Travis McGee

OMG——f-u-n-n-y.

You the best, TM.


26 posted on 10/02/2013 6:52:51 AM PDT by Liz
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To: Liz

It is beyond frightening that there is no standard oversight for these groups.


27 posted on 10/02/2013 7:11:51 AM PDT by Girlene (Hey, NSA!)
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To: Kaslin

Is there a wall big enough to line all these communists up against?


28 posted on 10/02/2013 7:57:52 AM PDT by dagogo redux (A whiff of primitive spirits in the air, harbingers of an impending descent into the feral.)
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To: Kaslin; txrefugee; Liz; tobyhill; riri; Grampa Dave

Getting a Voter ID is Easier Than Going Thru The ObamaCare Maze


29 posted on 10/02/2013 8:08:32 AM PDT by First_Salute (May God save our democratic-republican government, from a government by judiciary.)
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To: Kaslin

Calling James O’Keefe...get some of your merry pranksters to film one of these navigators taking a bribe...


30 posted on 10/02/2013 8:09:12 AM PDT by Mamzelle
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To: txrefugee

All the ones shown on our local news were Mexican and speaking Spanish to everyone they were ‘helping’.


31 posted on 10/02/2013 8:51:32 AM PDT by sheana
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To: Kaslin
"All your secrets are safe with us. Honest!"

-- Obamanavigators

32 posted on 10/02/2013 9:13:56 AM PDT by JPG (Putin Does Obama.)
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To: Kaslin

Once again the Chicago mob hits a home run.

Access to all the data AND registering more Dem voters

All taxpayer funded.


33 posted on 10/02/2013 9:20:18 AM PDT by nascarnation (Democrats control the Presidency, Senate, and Media. It's an uphill climb....)
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To: First_Salute; Kaslin; txrefugee; Liz; tobyhill; riri; Grampa Dave
First_Salute~:" Getting a Voter ID is Easier Than Going Thru The ObamaCare Maze"

Voter ID = photo taken with a mailing address
ObamaCare = no photo ,application taken on the " HONOR SYSTEM "( Huh ? WTF ? !!)
cash a check = Photo , and government I.D. must be presented !
To Vote (c/o Dept of " JUST-US "= No photo , no I.D. , just show up, "honor system (we trust you )" ,
and no one to prosecute voter fraud !

34 posted on 10/02/2013 2:22:08 PM PDT by Tilted Irish Kilt (Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. -- James Madison)
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To: Kaslin

35 posted on 10/02/2013 2:24:20 PM PDT by JediJones (The #1 Must-see Filibuster of the Year: TEXAS TED AND THE CONSERVATIVE CRUZ-ADE)
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt

ObamaCare leads to, and promotes, fraud.

Voter ID leads away from that.

Probably with Voter ID, ObamaCare would not have become ... “a tax.”


36 posted on 10/02/2013 2:29:41 PM PDT by First_Salute (May God save our democratic-republican government, from a government by judiciary.)
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To: Mears

bfl


37 posted on 10/02/2013 2:31:02 PM PDT by Mears (Liberalism is the art ot being easily offended.)
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To: Tilted Irish Kilt

The ObamaCare Chilling Effect


38 posted on 10/03/2013 4:36:01 AM PDT by First_Salute (May God save our democratic-republican government, from a government by judiciary.)
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To: Kaslin
California exchange overstated its Web traffic for Obamacare launch

State officials said the Covered California website got 645,000 hits during the first day of enrollment, far fewer than the 5 million it reported Tuesday.

The state exchange had cited the 5 million figure as a sign of strong consumer interest and a major reason people had so much difficulty using its $313-million online enrollment system.

Dana Howard, a spokesman for Covered California, said the error was the result of internal miscommunication.

Chilling Effect, again.

39 posted on 10/03/2013 4:39:32 AM PDT by First_Salute (May God save our democratic-republican government, from a government by judiciary.)
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To: Kaslin
Obamacare phones offered to health insurance buyers

The Nashville Business Journal is reporting that Community Health Alliance, Tennessee’s Obamacare health insurance co-op, is using the prospect of a free phone to encourage folks to enroll ...

I could use a pickup truck.

40 posted on 10/03/2013 4:44:06 AM PDT by First_Salute (May God save our democratic-republican government, from a government by judiciary.)
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