News/Events

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced mobile office locations for April.

Attorney General Rutledge created this initiative during her first year in office to increase office accessibility for all Arkansans, particularly to those who live outside the capital city. Office hours were held in all 75 counties each year during her first term, assisting 3,300 Arkansans.

Rutledge believes face-to-face conversations are the best way to truly hear from Arkansans. The Attorney General Mobile Offices assist constituents with consumer related issues by filing consumer complaints against scam artists as well as answering questions about the office and the other services it offers to constituents.

Rutledge continues her partnerships with the Cooperative Extension Service and local law enforcement across Arkansas. Law enforcement officials will be on hand to collect unused and expired prescription medications to ensure they are secured and properly disposed. Arkansans are encouraged to bring their old, unused or expired prescription medications to an upcoming mobile office. During Rutledge’s first term, over 618 pounds of medications were collected at mobile offices.

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced a new initiative to educate Arkansas’s seniors about how they can protect themselves from vicious scam artists. The first Rutledge Retiree Resources event will be held March 26 at the Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center for seniors from across the region.

“Senior Arkansans are a consistent target of scammers from across the world,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “These educational events are aimed to teach Arkansans how to spot a scam and protect their personal information. I am pleased to offer these types of programs across the state to reach Arkansans where they are.”

Says, ‘Charline Brandon has swindled money from Arkansas for long enough’

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced that the owner of Bridge of Faith Hospice & Palliative Care in Helena-West Helena has pleaded guilty two counts of Medicaid fraud and one count of willful failure to pay or file taxes.

“Charline Brandon has swindled money from Arkansas for long enough and she is finally being held accountable,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Her actions hurt law-abiding Arkansans who work hard and follow our laws.”

Brandon, 63, of Cleveland, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to two counts of Medicaid fraud and one count of willful failure to pay or file taxes. The Medicaid fraud investigation revealed that from September 2013 through December 2016, Bridge of Faith Hospice & Palliative Care was paid gross income of $1,567,432.82 by Medicaid and Medicare and never filed an income tax return in Arkansas. The Medicaid fraud charges resulted from Brandon billing the Arkansas Medicaid Program $289,986.46 for hospice care services provided to two Medicaid recipients who were never terminally ill. She will be sentenced on April 9.

Brandon has pleaded guilty in federal court in Mississippi to similar allegations involving Medicaid and Medicare in Mississippi.

This case was referred to the Arkansas Attorney General’s office by the Mississippi Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General.

Says, ‘The TRACED Act will further protect Arkansans’