A Fort Payne native was charged with Medicaid fraud and first-degree theft of property Wednesday for fraudulent insurance claims.
An investigation initiated by the Program Integrity Division of the Alabama Medicaid Agency (AMA) led to the arrest of 53-year-old Kimberly Huggins Hamilton after her billings stuck out to investigators as an outlier for Alabama speech therapy providers.
Investigators claim that Hamilton filed false claims totaling $1.2 million with the AMA. They said the claims were for services children never received.
According to Attorney General Steve Marshall, Hamilton’s reimbursement amounts increased, but she was seeing fewer patients, creating an alarming discrepancy.
The AMA findings were then turned over to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for further investigation. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agents from the office in Birmingham assisted with the investigation.
Hamilton is now a resident of Ponte Verda Beach, Florida. She was booked into the DeKalb County Jail on a $30,000 bond.
Hamilton is innocent until proven guilty.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email will.blakely@1819news.com.
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