October 15, 2007
Jane Jimenez
Impressive federal agencies listed on Consumer Sentinel’s website are leading a battle to protect Americans against fraud: U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Better Business Bureau…and more. They brag about their successes.
The Federal Trade Commission just announced complaints against seven online sellers of alternative hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products, alleging that they made health claims for their natural progesterone creams without supporting scientific evidence. Six of the sellers have signed consent orders barring them from making such unsubstantiated claims in the future. The seventh did not respond to staff’s repeated contacts, and the case will now be heard by an administrative law judge.
“Millions of women seek safe, effective alternatives to hormone replacement therapy,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “These companies violated their trust by making claims they just couldn’t prove.”
Meanwhile, the largest consumer fraud case in our nation’s two-hundred year history continues unchallenged right under the noses of our best Consumer Sentinels. The worst of it is that this fraud on American taxpayers is financed by our tax dollars, yours and mine.
Defrauding “millions of women” with claims of “safe, effective” medical procedures, Planned Parenthood sells abortions to minors, evading legal requirements put in place to protect our daughters against rape and incest.
For over ten years, Planned Parenthood has demonized those who have worked to collect evidence of their fraud. But thanks to the growing ability to share information through the Internet, this evidence can now easily be reviewed by every American taxpayer.
In May of this year, Lila Rose, a UCLA journalism student, set out to prove that Planned Parenthood is not following California’s mandatory reporting laws. Posing as a 15-year-old impregnated by her 23-year-old boyfriend, she secretly captured 2 different Planned Parenthood clinics coaching her on how to avoid the law. “You could say 16…just figure out a birthday that works…and I don’t know anything.”
Clearly unafraid of any law enforcement effort, Planned Parenthood moved immediately to preserve their right to break the law and defraud American taxpayers. Instead of offering promises to comply with laws protecting minors against sexual abuse, they threatened to sue Lila Rose for exposing their law-breaking.
This case finally brought to light a practice that has gone on for over a decade. In a nationwide telephone “sting”, volunteer citizens made calls to Planned Parenthood abortion clinics around the country. Posing as a girl 14 and her 22-year-old boyfriend, a young girl asked clinic staff if she could get an abortion.
Recorded on YouTube, time and again, Planned Parenthood staffers coach the minor on avoiding mandatory reporting laws in their states. “There is complete confidentiality,” one Colorado operator advises her, “You need to call completely anonymously…and don’t tell us anything about who the partner is.” An Alaska woman advises, “have a girlfriend come with you and tell them your boyfriend is 16.” Iowa, Connecticut, Missouri, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Texas, Tennessee, New Jersey, Utah, Kentucky…caught on tape…each clinic staff person gives the minor a plan to avoid state law. ”As long as you have the money and yourself,” the New Jersey Planned Parenthood receptionist assures her, “you’re fine.”
This deception has dire consequences for our young daughters. As Lila made plans for her investigation in Los Angeles, across the country, a lawsuit filed in Ohio revealed that Planned Parenthood had failed to report a known case of incest. As alleged in the suit, in November, 2004, a 16-year-old girl paid for her abortion and informed Planned Parenthood staff that her own father was the father of her baby and that the abuse had been on-going since 2000. Incredibly, Becki Brenner, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, told Cybercast News Service the young girl was a “victim of pro-life activists.”
The fraud does not stop here. Intent on expanding the network of clinics that promote breaking our laws, Planned Parenthood has resorted to deceit, sneaking into towns with false identities in order to build abortion super-clinics. Ainsley Earhardt on Hannity’s America filed a detailed report from Aurora, Illinois, where Planned Parenthood’s scheme involved filing false building permits under business names intended to mask Planned Parenthood’s identity. The fifth permit fraudulently stated that the tenant was unknown.
Illinois Zoning Attorney Vince Tessitori defines the series of five permits as fraud…purposely deceiving public authorities in the approval process. This is a scheme being used by Planned Parenthood around the country. In Texas, construction workers realized the deception when they discovered plans to install bulletproof windows and surgery recovery rooms. They refused to continue construction.
Last year Planned Parenthood’s financial statements disclosed over $305 million of our tax dollars funded their deception and fraud. After paying for all business expenses, including construction permits and employee wages, they earned more than 60 million dollars in profit…quite a haul for a business that claims to be non-profit.
American taxpayers are being fleeced. We are being asked to pay the bill for a business that earns a profit from breaking the law right under the noses of the FBI…law-breaking caught on tape, but allowed…and paid for with our tax dollars.
Getting mad is not enough. Action is what counts. If you want to put an end to this publicly funded fraud, you need to let Congress know. They are the ones who continue to pour our money into Planned Parenthood’s massive public fraud.
Call today: (202) 224-3121. The Capital Operator can direct you to your Senator and Representative. On the web, you can locate your representatives and contact them directly.
Your message: Stop sending our tax dollars to Planned Parenthood. Stop now. Stop right this minute.