Attorney General Moody Announces Arrest of Speech-Language Pathologist Defrauding Florida Medicaid
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is announcing the arrest of a speech-language pathologist for defrauding Florida Medicaid. Kristin Marie Stiggleman, a therapy provider in Hillsborough County, inflated hours by billing for services not provided and misappropriating more than $5,000 from the taxpayer-funded program. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office assisted in arresting Stiggleman who is charged with Medicaid provider fraud and grand theft.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This speech-language pathologist was trusted to provide care for vulnerable children and abused that trust to line her own pockets. She inflated her hours spent treating children, billed for sessions she personally canceled, and even billed for services when children were unavailable due to hospitalization. Thanks to our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, her scheme is shut down and she will now face our Statewide Prosecutors.”
Stiggleman worked as a licensed speech-language pathologist, tasked with the assessment and treatment of children with speech, language, voice and fluency disorders. An investigation by Attorney General Moody’s MFCU revealed that between March 2020 and September 2021, Stiggleman inflated hours by billing for services not provided on numerous occasions. Stiggleman billed for services even when personally canceling sessions, when children discontinued services, or when children were unavailable for services due to hospitalization—stealing more than $5,700 of public funds in the process.
Stiggleman faces one count of Medicaid-provider fraud and one count of grand theft, both third-degree felonies. Assistant Attorney General Joseph Kelly, through the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, will prosecute the case.
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The Florida Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes providers that intentionally defraud the state’s Medicaid program through fraudulent billing practices. Medicaid fraud essentially steals from Florida’s taxpayers. Additionally, the MFCU investigates allegations of patient abuse, neglect, and exploitation in facilities receiving payments under the Medicaid program.
The Florida MFCU is funded through a grant totaling $29,707,695 for Federal Fiscal Year 2024, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General. The Federal Share of these funds is 75% totaling $22,280,772. The State Matching Share of these funds is 25% totaling $7,426,923 and is funded by Florida.