New Inspector General announced

Governor Greg Abbott announced the appointment of Raymond Charles Winter as Inspector General for Texas Health and Human Services. The announcement was issued September 26, 2023.

Winter joined the Office of Inspector General in June 2023 as Assistant Deputy Inspector General for Complex Litigation. He previously served at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas for more than 24 years, including 15 as Chief of the Civil Medicaid Fraud Division. Prior to joining the Office of Attorney General, Winter was a staff attorney at the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, now the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and a U.S. Army infantry officer and paratrooper. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a law degree from the University of Houston.

Winter will succeed Sylvia Hernandez Kauffman, who was appointed in 2018 and announced her planned departure in August 2023. Although Kauffman has decided to embark on a new phase of her career, she has had an indelible impact on the state of Texas. In her six years leading the Office of Inspector General, she implemented transformative methods in combating fraud, waste and abuse that resulted in $2.4 billion in recoveries for Texas taxpayers.

October 2, 2023, will be Kauffman’s final day as Inspector General as she returns to the private sector. Winter officially takes office on the same day for a term set to expire on February 1, 2024.