Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Dr. Mehmet Oz on Friday hit back at Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., after he filed a civil rights complaint alleging that Oz had unjustly targeted the Armenian community in a viral video document alleged public fraud.

"Gavin Newsom will do literally anything to avoid talking about the rampant Medicare fraud in his state," Oz said. "The problem isn't isolated to California, though as far as our team can tell, it is the worst. Every working American pays into Medicare, and I will not stand idly by while criminals steal from this critical social safety net program."

Oz, this week, appeared in a video documenting the multitude of allegedly fraudulent hospice centers in Los Angeles that he linked to the Russian-Armenian mafia operating in the city. An enraged Newsom filed the complaint and highlighted the "historical sensitivities" at play, appearing to reference Oz's Turkish origin.

Turks and Armenians have a long history of ethnic tensions, with much of the animosity dating to the Turkish genocide of Armenians during World War I.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.