According to a report from the Associated Press, esteemed Doctor Ben Carson has "maintained a business relationship" with Alfonso Costa, a close friend and business partner who plead guilty to healthcare fraud.
Carson's continued relationship with Costa, the Press notes, contradicts Carson's rhetoric on healthcare fraud.
Pittsburgh dentist Alfonso A. Costa pleaded guilty to a felony count of health care fraud after an FBI probe into his oral surgery practice found he had charged for procedures he never performed, according to court records.
Though the crime carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison, Costa was sentenced to house arrest and probation after Carson helped petition a federal judge on behalf of the man he described as "one my closest, if not my very closest friend."
Carson reportedly told the federal judge that, aside from his wife, there is "no one on this planet that I trust more than Al Costa."
But Doctor Ben Carson is running for president, for Pete's sake, and in his 2013 book he took a very strict position on healthcare fraud.
"I would not advocate chopping off people's limbs, but there would be some very stiff penalties for this kind of fraud, such as loss of one's medical license for life, no less than ten years in prison, and loss of all of one's personal possessions," Carson wrote.
Why would Carson bail out his friend and then say he would stop just short of chopping arms off?
Alfonso Costa made Carson rich.
Before his criminal conviction and the revocation of his license to practice dentistry, Costa built a multimillion-dollar fortune through commercial real estate. Investments Carson and his wife made through Costa earn the couple between $200,000 and $2 million a year, according to financial records that Carson was required to file when he declared his candidacy.
Costa also continues to promote his involvement with Carson's charity as part of his real estate business, prominently featuring the logo of the Carson Scholars Fund on the company's website.
I would not be the least bit surprised to see Carson himself implicated in some form of fraud before this election season is over.