An investigation has exposed a nearly $20 million insurance scam in Nepal involving guides who allegedly fake or induce mountainside rescues, including by lacing the food of some hikers near Mt. Everest, according to a report by The Kathmandu Post.

Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal, where some adventurous individuals go to climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. 

The mountain sits on the border of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

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The Kathmandu Post reported that after it highlighted the fraud in 2018, the government established a fact-finding committee, issued a 700-page report and declared reforms. 

But last year, the Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) reopened the matter and discovered that the fraud was increasing.

The outlet indicated that the CIB probe points out two main fraudulent scenarios.

One involves guides suggesting to tired adventurers who do not want to walk back that if they feign illness, a chopper will pick them up, according to The Kathmandu Post.

The outlet reported that, in the other scenario, guides and hotel staff, according to the CIB probe, have been coached to scare trekkers at high altitude, where altitude sickness can occur. They allegedly claim that the trekkers are in danger of dying and that only immediate evacuation will spare them. 

In some instances, investigators discovered that Diamox (acetazolamide) tablets, utilized to prevent altitude sickness, were given in conjunction with excessive water intake to cause the symptoms that would give grounds for a rescue, the outlet reported. 

In at least one instance noted in the investigation, guides allegedly laced food with baking powder to cause people to be unwell, the outlet stated.

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Tents of mountaineers are pictured at Everest base camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district April 18, 2024, on the tenth anniversary of an avalanche that killed 16 Nepali guides.  (Purnima Shrestha/AFP via Getty Images)

Police recorded a case in which four individuals were picked up on one chopper flight, but insurance claims were filed as more than one separate rescue, the report noted.

The framework tying the system of mass fraud together was detailed in police interrogations, according to the outlet, which reported that hospitals shell out 20% to 25% of the insurance money to trekking businesses and 20% to 25% to chopper rescue operators in return for patient referrals. 

Trekking guides and their businesses get a boost from inflated invoices, the outlet suggested. In some instances, tourists are offered money to join in the scam, The Kathmandu Post added.

In the period between 2022 and 2025, investigators found a whopping 4,782 foreign patients serviced at implicated hospitals, with 171 cases verified as fraudulent rescues, the outlet reported. During that span, Era International Hospital raked in deposits of over $15.87 million for such activities and Shreedhi International Hospital got more than $1.22 million, the outlet reported.

Mountain Rescue Service carried out 171 fake rescues from an overall 1,248 charter flights, scoring around $10.31 million from insurers, the outlet reported, adding that Nepal Charter Service executed 75 fake rescues out of 471 flights, claiming $8.2 million. Everest Experience and Assistance was allegedly tied to 71 suspicious rescues out of 601 flights, with claims of $11.04 million.

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This photograph taken May 12, 2021, shows mountaineers as they climb during their ascent to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. (Pemba Dorje Sherpa/AFP via Getty Images)

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CIB charged 32 people last month with offenses against the state and organized crime, the outlet reported, noting that nine individuals were arrested while others were said to be absconding.

Individuals from Mountain Helicopters, Altitude Air and Manang Air, which was rebranded as Basecamp Helicopters, as well as physicians and administrators with Swacon International Hospital, Shreedhi International Hospital and Era International Hospital were among the individuals who have been charged, the outlet indicated.

More than a dozen Democratic-led states are accusing the Trump administration of violating a federal court order by sharing Medicaid data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, asking a judge to enforce the ruling.

The states’ complaint asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to enforce its existing injunction blocking HHS from sharing Medicaid data with ICE. 

«The Trump Administration appears to be defying a direct court order blocking it from sharing the personal, sensitive data of individuals including U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. It’s invasive — and deeply troubling,» said California Attorney General Bonta, who led the coalition of 22 states. «When Californians signed up for Medi-Cal, they did so with the understanding that their data would not be used for purposes unrelated to administering this program. I urge the court to enforce its earlier order and make clear that these guardrails exist for anyone who is lawfully residing in the United States.»

The complaint stems from a lawsuit spearheaded by California in July 2025 against the Trump administration. The lawsuit accused Health and Human Services of violating federal law through its «mass transfer of sensitive Medicaid data» of both lawful permanent and temporary residents. The lawsuit also argued that the sharing of the personal information will likely create a «chilling effect on individuals’ willingness to enroll in Medicaid programs» for which they are legally eligible.

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A federal judge ruled last December that the Trump administration is not allowed to collect the personal information of lawful permanent residents or citizens, but that it can continue to collect basic information from individuals such as addresses, birthdates and immigration status for residents with temporary status. However, the scope of data that can be collected is limited and cannot include sensitive health information. 

The attorneys general accuse Health and Human Services of sharing «a large and complex» set of data on Medicaid recipients with ICE, which is in violation of a federal court ruling allowing the exchange of limited personal information but excluding the information of legal permanent residents. The complaint also accuses the Trump administration of failing to share its criteria for determining if a resident is being «lawfully present.»

CATO Institute Senior Legal Fellow Dan Greenberg told Fox News Digital there is «a strong possibility» that HHS and ICE violated the district court’s order.

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ICE agents stand at the scene where a woman was shot and killed earlier in the day during an enforcement operation on Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)

«The reason this is a strong possibility is that DHHS communications apparently indicate that it shared a ‘large and complex’ dataset of Medicaid recipients with ICE,» Greenberg said. «That phrase suggests that the dataset that was shared with ICE may have included information that is outside the scope of the court order. That is a question of fact: that is why the states are now asking the court to compel the federal government to explain just what was shared and how it is now being used.»

Greenberg also pointed out that the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System database does not «appear to have any simple or direct way to identify/single out immigrants who are undocumented,» making «information-sharing that complies with that court order difficult or impossible.»

«The TMSIS identifies people who are only eligible for emergency Medicaid services, but the problem is that this class of people includes both undocumented and lawfully present immigrants,» Greenberg said. «In short, it is as if the court order said that only some of the information in one particular file should be disclosed, but there is reason to believe that DHHS decided that — because they can’t figure out how to separate out this particular type of information – they may have handed over the whole filing cabinet.»

The US Department of Health and Human Services building is shown in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

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In addition to California, attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governor of Kentucky signed on to the complaint.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Health and Human Services for comment.

Las empresas navieras de Grecia, los Emiratos Árabes Unidos y China son las más afectadas por el cierre del estrecho de Ormuz, según datos de Bloomberg y de organizaciones de tráfico marítimo.

Alrededor de 670 buques de carga enviaron señales desde el oeste del estrecho de Ormuz durante el último día, de los cuales 120 pertenecían a empresas de los cercanos Emiratos Árabes Unidos, lo que representa alrededor del 18 % del total.

La guerra estalló el 28 de febrero cuando Estados Unidos e Israel lanzaron ataques contra Irán, lo que desencadenó ataques de represalia en toda la región, con las fuerzas de Teherán apuntando a esta crucial vía marítima.

Las cifras podrían subestimar los totales reales, ya que es posible que algunos buques hayan apagado sus transpondedores.

Grecia

Después de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, el siguiente en la lista es Grecia: sus empresas cuentan con al menos 75 buques de carga que se encuentran en el estrecho desde el inicio de la guerra, alrededor del 12 % del total.

De esos buques, unos 30 son petroleros o gaseros, según un análisis de datos de Bloomberg, que recopila información de diversas organizaciones.

China

Los países asiáticos se han visto muy afectados por el cierre.

Las empresas chinas cuentan con 74 buques de carga en la zona, 25 de los cuales son petroleros y gaseros. El resto son buques de carga seca a granel, como los portacontenedores.

Japón

Las empresas japonesas tienen al menos 23 buques de petróleo y gas y 16 buques de carga seca en el estrecho.

Además, 25 buques de Hong Kong —13 de petróleo y gas, 12 de carga seca— también se encuentran en la región.

India

Las empresas con sede en la India cuentan con 24 buques de petróleo y gas en la zona.

Las empresas de Singapur y Corea del Sur también se han visto afectadas, con 29 y 22 buques de mercancías, respectivamente, atascados desde que comenzó la guerra.

Vietnam tiene tres grandes buques de transporte de gas en la zona.

Petróleo y gas

Alrededor de 50 superpetroleros (VLCC) parecen estar varados, junto con 11 supergaseros.

Corea del Sur cuenta con siete de los VLCC, las empresas de China y Japón cuentan con seis cada una, y Grecia con cinco.

Buques vinculados a Irán

De las 225 travesías realizadas por buques de carga desde el inicio de la guerra, más de 40 fueron de buques iraníes, según datos de la empresa de inteligencia marítima Kpler.

Otras 60 fueron de buques que no enarbolan pabellón ni son propiedad directa de Irán, pero que están sancionados por Estados Unidos en el marco de su programa sobre Irán.

Travesías griegas y chinas

Unas 35 travesías han sido realizadas por buques de propiedad griega, incluidas ocho de una sola empresa, Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd.

Al menos 20 buques afiliados a China y 13 vinculados a la India han realizado el trayecto.

Algunos buques parecen haber cruzado el estrecho a través de un sistema de verificación en el que Irán concede paso seguro a ciertos buques de países amigos.

Buques estadounidenses en el punto de mira

Cientos de buques parecen estar esperando a que pase la guerra, dados los altísimos costos de los seguros y el peligro para la vida y la carga.

De los buques en la zona que informaron de ataques o actividades sospechosas, alrededor de la mitad estaban vinculados a Europa o a Estados Unidos, según el Servicio de Operaciones de Comercio Marítimo del Reino Unido y la información sobre la propiedad disponible públicamente.

(Con información de AFP)