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WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Get the money from McGraw!

As an example of brazen hypocrisy, Abraham Lincoln cited the man who murdered both his parents and then asked for clemency because he was an orphan.

That man had nothing on State Attorney General Darrell McGraw.

Acting on behalf of the state, McGraw won lawsuits against major drug companies, but retained control of the proceeds and left the state holding the bag for reimbursements due to the federal government.

To recoup its portion of McGraw's $10 million settlement with Purdue Pharma in 2004, the federal government then withheld $2.7 million in Medicaid funds that, otherwise, would have gone to the state's Department of Health and Human Resources.

Audacious McGraw says that's unfair, because DHHR hardly got any of the settlement money.

"It is fundamentally unfair to require DHHR to credit the federal government with $2,732,968.00 when DHHR received only $250,000 and the state Medicaid agency (Bureau of Medical Services) received none of the settlement proceeds," McGraw argued in a complaint filed in federal court last month.

Why did DHHR get so little of the settlement? Because McGraw diverted it!

Priceless? First, McGraw poses as champion of the people by suing a big corporation for alleged overcharges. The suit settles and millions of dollars extracted from the company are diverted by him to his pet projects and to attorney friends (i.e., campaign contributors). Next, he poses as a champion of the state agency held liable by the federal government for his diversion of funds and argues that the U.S. has no right to its fair share of the settlement.

In essence, he took the money from Uncle Sam and is now suing Uncle Sam for daring to ask for it back.

What do the governor, the state Legislature, and we the people of West Virginia have to say about this? Apparently nothing, so far. When will West Virginia hold Quick Draw McGraw accountable? Ask your state elected officials why, starting with the governor and the leaders of the legislature.

If McGraw appropriated money that didn't belong to him, why isn't he obliged to repay it and why isn't his budget cut? Why are the taxpayers footing the bill?

And why is a brazen self-promoter like Darrell McGraw allowed to continue to pose as a champion of the people?

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