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VietnameseGriffin: ‘My office remains steadfast in holding those who commit Medicaid fraud accountable’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement announcing one Medicaid fraud conviction and one separate Medicaid fraud arrest:
“On August 26, Shylee Earlette Hagler, 53, of Little Rock pleaded guilty to one charge of Medicaid fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. She was sentenced to six months suspended imposition, ordered to pay a $150 fine, and ordered to pay $297 in restitution. Hagler claimed to have provided personal-care services to a Medicaid beneficiary in their home on several dates when the beneficiary had already been admitted as an inpatient at a local hospital.
“On September 4, Zariaeah Blake, 24, of Pine Bluff was arrested on one charge of Medicaid fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. Blake allegedly billed for services not rendered while the Medicaid beneficiary was already admitted as an inpatient at a local hospital.
“My office remains steadfast in holding those who commit Medicaid fraud accountable. I want to thank my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) for their continued work in protecting Arkansans, especially Special Agent Richard Morales, Special Agent Matthew Edwards, and Assistant Attorney General David Jones. I also want to thank the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, and Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas Will Jones for their assistance in these cases.”
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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