Planned Parenthood Sued for Alleged Financial Fraud

Los Angeles, CAA former Planned Parenthood executive is alleging that the Los Angeles organization defrauded taxpayers out of approximately $180 million. The former executive, Victor Gonzalez, served as Planned Parenthood's Los Angeles affiliate vice president for finance and administration until he tried to make his superiors aware of illegalities that he says he had discovered. When he made this attempt, he was fired from his job.

Gonzales alleges that Planned Parenthood overcharged the state on birth control in amounts that equal hundreds of millions of dollars. He further alleges in the suit that Planned Parenthood charged the state as much as $12 for birth control pills when other agencies were charging around $8 or $9 to the state.

Only recently has this case been made public since its filing in 2005 because it alleges that Planned Parenthood, which is the largest provider of abortions in the nation, knowingly engaged in criminal actions that defrauded the federal taxpayers out of an amount of approximately $180 million over a six year period.

In a news release, president of Operation Rescue, Troy Newman, said that it is renewing its call to have a federal investigation conducted that will cease any funding going to Planned Parenthood and any of its affiliates throughout the United States. He further stated that in order for a group to receive funds, they must comply with all regulations set forth by both state and federal laws. He says that such compliance has not been the case in California

It was published in the Los Angeles Times that Planned Parenthood was exonerated by the state because of conflicting billing information that was given to the organization by state officials. The suit will continue, though, because Gonzales is fighting his termination.

Gonzales' lawsuit says that despite the national reputation of Planned Parenthood as a provider of reproductive services, there is reason to believe that Planned Parenthood's affiliates in California have engaged in fraudulent acts that includes overbilling the government against programs that are funded by taxpayers.

Newman agrees that Planned Parenthood should be investigated and held accountable for any fraudulent business practices. He says that there have been increased reports of suspected illegalities at Planned Parenthood organizations all over the country. He also says that too many of the allegations are credible to go unnoticed and to just simply discount them as rumors. He believes that when vice presidents start blowing whistles, then it is time to listen to that and take action to find out what is really going on.

By Ginger Gillenwater