Attorney General Griffin Announces 2 Convictions and an Arrest Made by His Medicaid Fraud Control Unit

Griffin: ‘My office remains unwavering in our mission to protect the vulnerable and hold those who commit Medicaid fraud responsible’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement announcing two convictions and an arrest made recently by his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit:

“On November 12, Cassidy Baldridge, 33, of Lead Hill, was found guilty of Medicaid fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. She was sentenced to one year of jail (suspended) and ordered to pay $1,211.61 in restitution, a $100 fine, and court costs. Baldridge billed Medicaid, falsely claiming to have provided services to a beneficiary while the beneficiary was in a hospital.

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“On November 12, Shannon Mensie, 56, of North Little Rock, was found guilty of Medicaid fraud, a Class A misdemeanor. She was sentenced to 30 days of jail (suspended) and ordered to pay $393.75 in restitution, a $500 fine, and court costs. While working for a personal care agency, Mensie falsely claimed to have provided services to a Medicaid beneficiary in Beebe while working for Amazon in North Little Rock.

“On November 13, Jacqueline Small, 36, of Rector, was arrested and charged with Medicaid fraud, a Class B felony. While employed as a caregiver for a local agency, Small submitted claims for in-home personal care services that were allegedly not provided as documented. Electronic visit verification records indicate that Small was not at or near beneficiary residences during the times she reported delivering care. As a result, Medicaid was improperly billed $11,576.32.

“My office remains unwavering in our mission to protect the vulnerable and hold those who commit Medicaid fraud responsible. I want to thank my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) for their continued dedication to protect Arkansas, especially Special Agent Laura Glover, Special Agent Heath Nelson, Special Agent Matthew Edwards, Assistant Attorney General Gabrielle Davis-Jones, 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 its 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 $4,781,516 for the Federal fiscal year 2026, of which $3,586,140 is federally funded. The remaining 25%, totaling $1,195,376 for the State fiscal year 2026, is funded by Arkansas General Revenue.

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.