2 fraud and exploitation arrests made

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement announcing two fraud and exploitation arrests that resulted from investigations by his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit:
“On April 8, Kimberly Pate, 55, of Jessieville was arrested by the Garland County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for exploitation of a vulnerable person, a Class B Felony. Pate used her power of attorney status to access money in her mother’s account. She also used her power of attorney status to facilitate the sale of a home that she and her mother shared ownership of and took those funds from her mother’s account. The mother was evicted from two long-term care facilities after Pate neglected to pay those bills. Pate is currently being held in the Garland County Detention Center.
“On April 9, Judy Osment, 59, of Trumann was arrested by the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office on the charge of abuse of an endangered or impaired person, a Class B Felony. Osment had her mother, who was suffering from dementia, add her to her mother’s bank accounts, where she removed money totaling more than $100,000. Osment is currently being held at the Poinsett County Detention Center.

“Protecting our vulnerable population from fraud and exploitation will continue to be one of the priorities for my office. I want to recognize the outstanding work of my office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) for their unwavering dedication to protecting Arkansans. I specifically want to thank Special Agent Marcus Custer, Assistant Attorney General Gabby Davis-Jones, Managing Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Poinsett County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Jimmy Turnbow, Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District Sonia Hagood, Prosecuting Attorney for the Eighteenth Judicial District East Michelle Lawrence, the Trumann Police Department, the Garland County Sheriff’s Office, and the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office.”
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.