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Rutledge Announces a Guilty Plea by the CEO and Owner of New Beginnings Behavioral Health Services
Tue, Jul 14, 2020Says, ‘This culture of corruption has run rampant through our Medicaid system and it must be stopped’
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced Chirie Bazzelle pleaded guilty to obstructing governmental operations. Bazzelle is the owner and CEO at New Beginnings Behavioral Health Services (New Beginnings). In 2018 alone, New Beginnings billed the Medicaid program over $5.3 million. As a result of this investigation and Bazzelle’s arrest New Beginnings is no longer a Medicaid provider.
“This culture of corruption has rampant through our Medicaid system and it must be stopped,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Bazzelle is another bad actor who should never be allowed to work in our healthcare system and people like her must be removed from their positions.”
Bazzelle, 46, of Benton, failed to report contracts with lobbyist Milton “Rusty” Cranford, and former Department of Human Services Auditor, Robin Raveendran. Cranford, Raveendran and other full time employees of Preferred Family Healthcare secretly helped Bazzelle turn New Beginnings into one of the state’s largest single site mental health providers. She also knowingly concealed the continued employment of at least one individual who had previously been convicted of Medicaid Fraud.
Robin Raveendran, a former state auditor and Preferred Family Healthcare Director of Program Integrity and Director of Operations, is currently charged with two counts of Medicaid fraud, one Class A felony and one Class B felony based on a two year investigation by the Arkansas Attorney General’s office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Both Cranford and Raveendran have pleaded guilty in a parallel federal public corruption case involving Preferred Family Healthcare and former Arkansas legislators.
Medicaid fraud occurs when providers use the Medicaid program to obtain money to which they are not entitled. To report Medicaid fraud or abuse or neglect in residential care facilities, contact the Attorney General’s Medicaid fraud hotline at (866) 810-0016 or oag@arkansasag.gov.
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Rutledge and the U.S. Department of Justice Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Uphold Arkansas’s Medicaid Expansion Program Requirements
Tue, Jul 14, 2020LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review and uphold the Arkansas Works Medicaid Demonstration Project. The U.S. Department of Justice is also seeking review to uphold Arkansas’s Medicaid expansion project.
“Arkansas Works’ model was designed to encourage able-bodied Arkansans without dependents to transition into the workforce, building a stronger, more resilient connection with their communities,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “I appreciate Attorney General Bill Barr hearing from us last week in Arkansas on this issue and as a result, the Department of Justice also filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to allow our pilot program to continue as a way to support Arkansans by enabling recipients to obtain employment in exchange for Medicaid benefits and create a sense of accomplishment by improving their health and financial independence.”
In February, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision to vacate Arkansas Works.
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Rutledge Praises Easing of Obama Era Lending Rule
Tue, Jul 7, 2020LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge released a statement following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s issuance of a revised final rule that will make credit more accessible to Americans. The CFPB rule reverses restrictions imposed on lenders during the Obama Administration.
“Arkansas law already prohibits the types of loans targeted by this unnecessary Obama era rule,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “While loan sharks continue to be a problem by preying on Arkansans with outlandish terms and repayment conditions, I will continue to enforce Arkansas law to prohibit these types of loans.”