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VietnameseGriffin: ‘When individuals commit Medicaid fraud against Arkansans, we will ensure they are held accountable’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement announcing seven arrests made recently by his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit:
“On October 3, Kimberly Rios, 39, of West Memphis was arrested and charged with Medicaid fraud, a Class B felony. Rios submitted claims for in-home personal care services that, according to location data, were not provided as reported. Records indicate Rios was not at or even near the clients’ residences at the times she claimed to have provided services. She improperly billed Medicaid a total of $15,436.80.
“On October 9, Latonya Jackson, 51, of Fort Smith was arrested and pleaded guilty to one count of Medicaid fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. She was sentenced to one day of jail (suspended) and ordered to pay $830.50 restitution, a $250 fine, and court costs. Jackson billed for services she claimed to provide while the Medicaid beneficiary was hospitalized, despite Jackson not working at the hospital.
“On October 9, Cassidy Baldridge, 33, of Lead Hill was arrested and charged with Medicaid fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. Baldridge billed for services she claimed to provide while the patient was hospitalized, despite Baldridge not working at the hospital.
“On October 10, Tanzania Terrell, 50, of Gould was arrested and charged with Medicaid fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. Terrell billed for services while a Medicaid beneficiary was a patient in a hospital, despite Terrell not working at the hospital and during times when Terrell was working at her other job with the city of Gould.
“On October 13, Kelly Baxter, 37, of Jacksonville was arrested and charged with exploitation of a vulnerable person, a Class B felony. Baxter, employed as a caregiver, allegedly used a client’s debit card to make unauthorized food purchases through DoorDash. The total amount of the transactions is reported to be $2,597.06.
“On October 16, Brandi Davis, 40, of Trumann was arrested and charged with one count of Medicaid fraud, a Class B felony and one count of Medicaid fraud, a Class A felony. Davis worked as both a caregiver and an administrative employee. As a caregiver, Davis allegedly used alternative numbers to manipulate the telephonic verification system to clock in and out falsely. She also conspired with families of Medicaid beneficiaries to split proceeds from fraudulent billing. In her administrative role, Davis created a fraudulent employee profile for her son and assisted him in billing for services he never provided.
“On October 16, Crystal Garcia, 39, of Lepanto was arrested and charged with Medicaid fraud, a Class A felony. Garcia, the mother of Medicaid beneficiaries, worked with a caregiver to help fraudulently bill Medicaid in return for kickbacks. She arranged the exchange of money and helped legitimize false claims by confirming details about the care her children were allegedly receiving.
“My office remains steadfast in its dedication to protecting our most vulnerable population. When individuals commit Medicaid fraud against Arkansans, we will ensure they are held accountable. I want to thank my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) for their continued work in protecting Arkansans, especially Special Agent Laura Glover, Special Agent Boyce Hamlet, Special Agent Heath Nelson, Special Agent Richard Morales, Special Agent Brandon Muldrow, and Assistant Attorney General David Jones. I also want to thank the office of the Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas Will Jones for their assistance in Jackson’s case.”
The Arkansas MFCU receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant totaling $4,685,736 for the Federal fiscal year 2025, of which $3,514,304 is federally funded. The remaining 25%, totaling $1,171,432 for State Fiscal Year 2025, is funded by Arkansas General Revenue.
To download a PDF of this release, click here.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.
His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.
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