LITTLE ROCK -- Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced today that health-care workers in Benton County, Craighead County and Mississippi County have been arrested following three separate investigations by the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Jonathan Chandler, 26, of Blytheville was arrested Monday for Medicaid fraud, a class C felony, for allegedly fraudulently billing Medicaid for reimbursement for attendant care services he didn't provide.
In another case, Jennifer Reid Casey, 33, of Rogers was arrested last week and is accused of defrauding the Arkansas Medicaid program of more than $27,473, which is a B felony. Investigators found that Casey submitted claims to Medicaid for payment for adult day care services that were not provided between January 2014 and April 2, 2014.
In the third case, Martha Renshaw, 50, of Lake City, was arrested Monday for Medicaid fraud, a Class B felony. Renshaw is accused of billing the Arkansas Medicaid Program $4,210 for in-home services that she allegedly did not provide.
Chandler and Renshaw were released on their own recognizance, and Casey was released on $3,500 bond.
"Health care providers who falsify Medicaid bills are stealing money from Arkansas taxpayers and weakening the integrity of our Medicaid program," McDaniel said. "My Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will continue to work diligently to investigate all instances of Medicaid fraud across the state."
Chandler was contracted as an attendant care provider by the Arkansas Department of Human Services to provide home health care to his mother. Records reviewed by investigators indicate that Chandler submitted claims for payment totaling $272 for at-home care while his mother was hospitalized in Blytheville.
Casey operated Christian Day Care, an adult day care facility on Museum Road in Conway. According to investigators, Casey made fraudulent Medicaid claims and accepted payments after the facility closed on Jan. 1, 2014. Money received from the false claims was deposited into a bank account controlled by Casey and used for purchases at various retailers and restaurants, according to investigators.
Renshaw was employed as a personal care aide by Allcare Homecare in Jonesboro. Investigators found that separate time sheets indicate Renshaw billed Medicaid for providing at-home care to patients based in Trumann while she was clocked in as a full-time employee of NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital. According to investigators, she also fraudulently billed Medicaid for services she said she provided during times when bank records indicate she was getting personal vehicles serviced and visiting the dentist.
Charges are merely accusations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
To report Medicaid fraud or abuse or neglect in nursing homes, call the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud hotline at 866-810-0016.