Griffin: ‘Prosecution of Medicaid fraud in Arkansas is the responsibility of my office, and I take that responsibility seriously’

LITTLE ROCK – After filing charges today against Dr. Brian Hyatt in Pulaski County Circuit Court, Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement:

“Today a special prosecutor in my office filed two counts of Medicaid fraud, a Class A felony, against Dr. Brian Hyatt. These charges stem from crimes that occurred between January 1 and April 29, 2022, at Northwest Medical Center-Springdale. During that time, Hyatt made fraudulent Medicaid claims in excess of $300,000. Class A felonies are punishable by six to 30 years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines.

“Hyatt was previously arrested pursuant to a warrant on October 9 in Rogers and then appeared in Pulaski County District Court on October 19, where he surrendered his passport and signed an extradition waiver before being released on a $15,000 surety bond. Today’s filings constitute formal charges being brought in this case.

“Prosecution of Medicaid fraud in Arkansas is the responsibility of my office, and I take that responsibility seriously. I want to thank Senior Assistant Attorney General Sharon Strong and Senior Special Agent Greg McKay for their exemplary work on this case, and I am also grateful to Sixth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Will Jones for his cooperation and assistance with the filing of these felony charges.”

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 has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 27 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. 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.

He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née 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 attends Immanuel Baptist Church and lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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