Baby Bust: Feds Raid California 'Maternity Hotels'
Source: MSN
Southern California apartment complexes that doubled as "maternity hotels" for Chinese women who want made-in-America babies were raided early Tuesday, capping an unprecedented federal sting operation, officials said. NBC News was on the scene as Homeland Security agents swept into The Carlyle, a luxury property in Irvine, California, which housed pregnant women and new moms who allegedly forked over $40,000 to $80,000 to give birth in the United States.
"I am doing this for the education of the next generation," one of the women told NBC News.
None of the women were arrested; they are being treated as material witnesses, and paramedics were on hand in case any of them went into labor during the sweep.
Instead, the investigation was aimed at ringleaders who pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars tax-free to help Chinese nationals obtain visas and then pamper them until they delivered in an American hospital at a discount, court papers show.
All told, the feds raided 20 locations in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, targeting three competing birth tourism schemes, officials said. The suspected operators have not been charged but are being questioned.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/baby-bust-feds-raid-california-maternity-hotels/ar-BBIb2fh?li=BBnb7Kz
They were funneled to several Orange County hospitals to deliver, but they didn't pay full price — approximately $25,000 — for medical services, officials said. Instead, they got reduced rates for the indigent, ranging from nothing to $4,000, the court papers say.
The probe into the Carlyle started in June 2014
Thank the past Admins work for exposing this fraud 'system'. This is why our health care is so freaking expensive. Are they going to charge anyone with fraud? someone collected 40-80k a woman from about 40,000 foreigners.(a year!) and defrauded a lot of hospitals and stole millions of state/federal funds.
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Damn, people were making hundreds of thousands of dollars off this. I must be in the wrong line of work.
It's good they busted the Chinese. They will NOT bust the Russians. Just watch and see.
These types of people really weaken the American-ness of people like me who were born and raised here.
