HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – A speech-language pathologist has been arrested for Medicaid fraud in Florida, according to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Hillsborough County therapist Kristin Marie Stiggleman, 34, overstated her hours by charging for services she did not render and embezzling over $5,000 from the program that taxpayers funded.
“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,” said Moody.
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Stiggleman was arrested with assistance from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. She faces charges of grand theft and Medicaid provider fraud.
As a certified speech-language pathologist, Stiggleman’s job included diagnosing and treating children with issues related to voice, language, speech, and fluency.
Attorney General Moody’s MFCU’s investigation found that Stiggleman frequently overstated his hours by billing for services that were never rendered between March 2020 and September 2021. More than $5,700 in public monies were stolen by Stiggleman as a result of his billing for services, even when he canceled sessions, when children stopped receiving services, or when children were hospitalized and could not receive services.
Stiggleman is charged with one count of grand theft and one count of Medicaid provider fraud, both of which are third-degree felonies.
The case will be prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Joseph Kelly via the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
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