A speech-language pathologist in Florida named Kristin Marie Stiggleman, 34, from Hillsborough County, has been arrested for committing Medicaid fraud.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody reported that she exaggerated her work hours, billing for services she didn’t provide, and misappropriated over $5,000 from the taxpayer-funded program.
“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.Stiggleman was arrested with help from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. She is facing charges of grand theft and Medicaid provider fraud.
As a certified speech-language pathologist, Stiggleman’s job involved diagnosing and treating children with voice, language, speech, and fluency issues.
The investigation by Attorney General Moody’s MFCU revealed that Stiggleman frequently exaggerated her hours by billing for services that were never provided between March 2020 and September 2021. Stiggleman took more than $5,700 in public funds by falsely billing for services, even in cases where she canceled sessions, when children no longer received services, or when children were hospitalized and couldn’t receive services.
Stiggleman is facing one charge of grand theft and one charge of Medicaid provider fraud, both of which are third-degree felonies.
Assistant Attorney General Joseph Kelly will handle the prosecution through the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
