New reporting from American Journal News reveals DC insider Michael Whatley’s campaign is being fueled by donors in the health care industry accused of Medicaid and Medicare fraud, the latest example of Whatley putting his bottom line before North Carolinians.

Whatley already supported spiking costs for North Carolinians by pushing for the toxic GOP budget that rips Medicaid away from hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, falsely claiming it would limit fraud. Now, his campaign is being bankrolled by donors accused of Medicaid and Medicare fraud.

After he was caught last week advocating for policies that benefit his bottom line, Whatley has proven once again that he is only looking out for himself – not North Carolina families.

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American Journal News: Whatley accepted $21K from donors linked to health care fraud

Jesse Valentine | February 11, 2026

• New campaign finance disclosures show that Republican Michael Whatley has accepted thousands of dollars in donations from individuals accused of Medicaid and Medicare fraud. He previously lauded efforts to crack down on such crimes.

• Included in the haul was $7,000 from Dr. Lenny Peters of High Point, NC. Peters is a physician and the founder of Bethany Medical, a health care provider with several offices in the central part of the state.

• Last month, state and federal prosecutors accused Bethany Medical of routinely billing Medicare and Medicaid for unnecessary urine drug tests. They said that Peters personally enforced this practice.

• Whatley received another $7,000 from Brian Colleran of Akron, OH. Colleran’s wife, Gretchen, also contributed $7,000. Colleran is an executive who manages several nursing and rehabilitation facilities. He is also a prolific Republican donor.

• In 2017, Brian and his co-executives paid $19.5 million to settle fraud complaints against three of their facilities. Federal prosecutors said the facilities falsified Medicare claims and named Colleran as the architect of the scheme.

• Last year, Whatley defended Republicans’ cut of $1 trillion from Medicaid, arguing that it was necessary to root out fraud in the program and improve efficiency.

• Health policy experts disagreed with this analysis. They say the rate of fraud in Medicaid is nominal and committed mostly by health care providers, like those supporting Whatley, not enrollees.

• The Medicaid cut is expected to force 650,000 North Carolinians to lose their health coverage.

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