Attorney General Todd Rokita reveals faulty COVID-19 data in shocking report
On the four-year anniversary of Indiana’s stay-at-home orders, Attorney General Todd Rokita unveiled the results of a report he commissioned to expose the real numbers associated with the coronavirus lockdowns.
“The truth is our government produced and relied on severely flawed data, including inflated death counts and unsound positivity rates, to shape the state’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Attorney General Rokita said. “This faulty data led to months of lockdowns, mask mandates, and devastated our economy. Hoosiers shouldn’t have to choose between their lives and their livelihoods.”
The Office of Attorney General (OAG) prepared this report to inform Hoosiers, elected officials, and public health agencies of deficiencies identified in COVID-19 data.
OAG’s analysis focused on two statistics widely reported and relied on by public health officials during the pandemic: the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 and the positivity rate (the total number of positive COVID-19 tests divided by the total number of COVID-19 tests administered). As evidenced in the report, inflated death counts and unsound positivity rates informed public policy decisions, like detrimental lockdowns, which harmed Hoosiers’ mental and physical well-being and our children's education.
Vastly inflated death counts:
- COVID-19 was listed as a “cause of death” for numerous deaths caused by gunshot wounds, fires, car accidents, blunt force trauma, drowning and drug overdoses.
- Indiana's Management Performance Hub (MPH) overreported COVID-19 deaths by 10.9 percent in 2020, 7 percent in 2021 and 12.5 percent in 2022.
- County-level COVID-19 death counts reported by local health departments had more significant variability than data reported by MPH, with larger counties underreporting and smaller counties overreporting.
Unsound positivity rates:
- IDOH calculated each county’s positivity rate by dividing the total number of positive tests by the total number of tests provided. Therefore, if a person tested five days in a row and each test was positive, that person contributed five positive cases to the positivity rate data.
- Those tested for COVID-19 had a higher probability of testing positive – individuals who were symptomatic and referred for testing by a physician and those required to be tested by their employer because they may be at a higher risk of exposure.
- IDOH funded the country’s first statewide prevalence survey testing 3,658 randomly selected individuals and determined Indiana’s positivity rate was roughly ten times lower than the rate calculated and reported by the state. IDOH discontinued the study after only three rounds of testing and continued to use biased positivity rate data as a metric to impose county-level COVID-19 restrictions.
“Our report doesn’t just point out the flaws,” Attorney General Rokita said. “It also makes recommendations to address these issues in the future. To ensure Hoosiers’ liberties are protected, Indiana must review the state’s framework for addressing any future emergency and adopt professionally accepted criteria for its reported data.”
Findings from this analysis strongly indicate that policymakers should establish a process that requires pandemic-related decisions to be based solely on high-quality research and sound data rather than anecdotal findings and faulty information. Further, they should keep Indiana’s economy and educational institutions fully open for business during future public health challenges.
Read the full report here
Attorney General Todd Rokita takes on Big Pharma
on behalf of Hoosiers
Attorney General Todd Rokita continues his fight against Big Pharma in a new lawsuit against drug manufacturers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) for inflating insulin prices for hardworking Hoosiers.
Approximately 640,435 Indiana residents have been diagnosed with diabetes and over 1.7 million people are pre-diabetic. It is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputations. It is the seventh leading cause of death in Indiana despite the availability of effective treatment.
“Diabetes is a public health crisis for Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “This is a serious condition that requires insulin, putting patients in the impossible position of choosing between health and financial security.”
The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Rokita includes drug manufacturers Sanofi-Aventis and Novo Nordisk and PBMs CaremarkPCS Health, Express Scripts, CVS Health Corp., and Optum RX for conspiring to raise prices on insulin medications by more than 1000% in the last decade alone despite manufacturing costs decreasing.
“Too many Hoosiers have been forced to ration because drug manufacturers and PBMs have prioritized profits over patients,” said Attorney General Rokita. “Hundreds of thousands of Indiana residents rely on these medications to stay alive and these prices discourage people to take care of their health.”
According to the Complaint, every year, the direct medical expenses associated with diabetes care in Indiana are an estimated five billion dollars. If everyone with diabetes could adhere to their medication protocol, over $8.3 billion in direct medical costs would be saved annually.
“Our office hopes this case will also set a strong precedent for other pharmaceutical companies who want to take advantage of everyday Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Families are suffering enough already with the economic decline. Targeting and scheming against those who have a medical condition like diabetes is absolutely unethical.”
This is just one of the many times Attorney General Rokita’s Office has taken on dishonest companies who harm Hoosier patients regularly. Since Rokita took office, he has obtained a $66.5 million settlement against Centene for their failure to disclose true costs, won a $573 million multi-state settlement against McKinsey & Company for its role in “turbocharging” the opioid epidemic with Purdue Pharma, and secured nearly $7 million in an Indiana Medicaid fraud settlement against Mallinckrodt.
Watch Attorney General Rokita's live press event announcing the lawsuit here.
Indiana and Arkansas co-lead 18 other states + D.C. in calling on Congress to fix hazy language in Farm Bill
Language designed to help farmers has been exploited to harm consumers
Attorney General Todd Rokita and Attorney General Tim Griffin are co-leading 18 other states plus the District of Columbia in a bi-partisan effort to Congress to fix language in the 2018 Farm Bill, which bad actors have used to flood the market with unregulated intoxicating hemp.
“This legislation was supposed to boost industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity,” Attorney General Rokita said. “That’s a goal that Hoosiers support without reservation. We’re talking about a plant that can be used to make auto parts, biodegradable plastic, biofuel, paper, textiles and other useful products.
Opportunists, however, have seized on perceived loopholes they believe enable them legally to sell THC-based products previously forbidden by federal rules, regardless of state-level regulations. These products often take the form of candy-like edibles attractive to children and adolescents.
“The intent of these federal hemp provisions was never to expand the availability of intoxicating products,” Attorney General Rokita said. “But now we have a $28 billion grey market flooding our communities with unregulated, highly potent products that are confusing to Hoosier businesses and dangerous to consumers of all ages.”
Many states have seen consumers poisoned by poorly manufactured products and misleading labels. Bad actors have taken advantage of popular THC-infused products, like edibles, and copy legitimate packaging to sell candy or snacks. These are particularly dangerous in the hands of children.
“By rewriting this legislation, Congress can support farmers’ ability to capitalize on the industrial-hemp market without opening the door to dangerous intoxicants,” Attorney General Rokita said. “We’re calling on them to do exactly that.”
The letter to Congress is attached.
Attorney General Todd Rokita warns Hoosiers of storm scams as severe weather sweeps across the state
As communities across the state look to rebuild after severe weather, Attorney General Todd Rokita warns Hoosiers to be cautious of storm scams.
"Our first priority is Hoosier safety and praying for those affected," Attorney General Rokita said. "To prevent additional loss, Indiana communities should be on the lookout for scammers who use weather-related disasters to scam innocent people out of their hard-earned money. If your home suffered damage, please read the tips our office has provided."
With storms like Indiana experienced, scammers will be out in full force trying to con everyday Hoosiers out of their hard-earned money.
Unfortunately, far too many dubious con artists appear on people’s doorsteps, promise to make needed repairs, and then disappear with their victims’ down payment in their pockets — never to return to do the work.
Attorney General Rokita is sharing the following tips to help Hoosiers avoid falling victim to storm-chasing scammers:
- Be skeptical of people promising immediate cleanup and debris removal.
- Know that FEMA doesn’t charge application fees. If someone wants money to help you qualify for FEMA funds, that’s probably a scam.
- Check out contractors’ reputations before enlisting their services.
- Ask for IDs, licenses, and proof the contractor is both bonded and insured.
- Get more than one estimate for work.
- Don’t believe any promises that aren’t in writing.
- Never pay by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency, or in cash.
- Don’t pay the full amount for the project up front.
Dealing with a disaster is never easy, but when scammers target people just trying to recover, the experience can become even more difficult.
“Storms in the Midwest can be unpredictable and dangerous, and the aftermath can create even more problems for you financially if you’re unprepared,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Before opening up your wallet, ask questions, demand a written contract, and do old-fashioned research before hiring anyone to repair your home. It can be tempting to accept help to fix damages to your home, but it’s crucial to take a step back and fully vet the contractor.”
If you ever suspect a scam of any type, file a complaint at indianaconsumer.com or call Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office at 1-800-382-5516.
Attorney General Todd Rokita stands up for Hoosier homeowners
Attorney General Todd Rokita recently announced that his office has reached an agreement to provide restitution to a consumer whose home was taken from her in a tax sale rescue scheme.
Rokita’s Homeowner Protection Unit secured a monetary judgment of more than a quarter-million dollars (plus yearly interest) against a scammer who targeted homeowners and their wallets.
“I would like to thank Ms. Marlena Elias for her courage in fighting this despicable conduct as well as the Notre Dame Clinical Law Center and its Program Director David Pruitt who assisted our office in pursuing this investigation and resolution.” Attorney General Rokita said. “We often rely on our legal services partners and others who so selflessly represent Hoosiers who do not normally have a voice in our judicial system to bring bad actors to justice.”
On November 30, 2023, Attorney General Rokita announced the filing of a civil complaint against Defendants Steven Kollar, American Realty Investments, LLC, and GR Housing LLC, alleging that the Defendants conspired to defraud a Saint Joseph County woman by offering to save her home from a tax sale and then rehab it and split the proceeds of a sale with her. Kollar was to have paid to redeem the property from a tax sale but then converted the woman’s real property to his own use.
Kollar then sold the property to another business where he was also a part owner and obtained a loan to rehab the property using it as collateral. He not only refused to unwind the transaction after the owner complained, but he ultimately paid the consumer nothing for the property.
The suit resulted in a monetary judgment against Kollar in the amount of $252,837.50. The Court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting Kollar from further solicitating Hoosiers whose properties are subject to tax sale proceedings, engaging in further home solicitation sales, engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, and a ban on his serving as a trustee for any trust formed under the laws of the State of Indiana.
The remaining Defendants agreed to pay restitution to the consumer through an agreed judgment in the amount of $80,000 to the consumer in full for the fair market value of the property, as well as reimbursing the Homeowner Protection Unit for $8,000 in costs of the investigation and prosecution of the case.
“I would also like to thank Deputy Attorney General Regan Perrodin and HPU Investigator Molly Jefford for their respective roles in resolving this matter.” Attorney General Rokia said. “We are lucky to have public servants like them working every day to ensure that our office does everything that we can to protect Hoosier homeowners.”
Hoosiers are encouraged to contact the Office of the Indiana Attorney General about any suspected scams or scam attempts. Consumers can file a complaint by visiting indianaconsumer.com or calling 1-800-382-5516.
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