Attorney General Griffin Announces Two Arrests Made by His Medicaid Fraud Control Unit

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement announcing two arrests for Medicaid fraud:

“On April 30, Porcha Birdo, 35, of West Memphis, was arrested on a charge of Medicaid Fraud, a Class B felony. While employed as a personal care aide, Birdo submitted claims for personal care services. These claims indicated that the services were provided to her child. However, services provided to a caregiver’s own children are not eligible for reimbursement under the Medicaid Personal Care Program. As a result of these improper claims, Medicaid was billed $18,693.12.

“On April 30, Armanda Richardson, 50, of Pine Bluff, was arrested on a charge of Medicaid Fraud, a Class B felony. While working as a direct service professional, Richardson submitted claims to Medicaid for supportive living care services. These claims indicated that the services were provided to her foster child. However, the billed service hours overlapped with hours she was working at a separate full-time position. As a result of these improper claims, Medicaid was billed $16,401.

“When individuals attempt to bill Medicaid for services involving their own children, they undermine a system designed to serve vulnerable Arkansans. These bad actors will be investigated and prosecuted. I commend the exceptional work done on these cases by MFCU’s Special Agent Marcus Custer and Special Agent Brandon Muldrow. I am also grateful for the assistance of Sixth Judicial District Prosecutor Will Jones 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.

To download a PDF of this release, click here.

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.

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