ST. FRANCIS COUNTY WOMAN ARRESTED ON MEDICAID FRAUD CHARGE
June 14, 2013 LITTLE ROCK -- Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced today that a St. Francis County woman has been arrested for felony Medicaid fraud following an investigation by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Jessica Desha Reed, 20, of Madison, admitted to investigators that she lied on timesheets regarding personal-care services she was alleged to have provided to a woman who at the time was incarcerated in a Memphis jail. The fraudulent information was given to Reed’s employer, and the state Medicaid program was billed for services that Reed did not render.
Reed was arrested for Medicaid fraud, a Class B felony. She turned herself in to Pulaski County authorities on Thursday after the Attorney General’s Office had issued a warrant for her arrest. She was released on her own recognizance.
“Taxpayers have a right to expect that their Medicaid dollars will go toward the medical care of Medicaid beneficiaries,” McDaniel said. “Actions that defraud this essential health program will not be tolerated in Arkansas.”
Reed was employed by Crittenden Adult Day Services of West Memphis as a personal-care attendant, aiding Medicaid beneficiaries who needed physician-ordered assistance with their routine daily needs. Reed’s employer notified the Attorney General’s Office that Reed had caused Medicaid to be billed for numerous hours of service not rendered to a beneficiary, who was an acquaintance of Reed.
An investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found that in a number of instances last year Reed had apparently forged the signature of the supposed beneficiary on time sheets. The beneficiary indicated to investigators that Reed had visited her only once and had provided no services.
Further, the supposed beneficiary of the services had been incarcerated in Memphis since October 2012.
The state alleges that Medicaid was improperly billed for $5,860.
Charges are merely accusations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.