TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody today announced an arrest by the Winter Haven Police Department of a Polk County licensed certified nursing assistant for exploitation of a disabled adult. The arrest follows an investigation by Attorney General Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit that revealed Jacqueline Bing financially exploited a disabled adult and Medicaid recipient by remaining as the Social Security representative payee after the vulnerable adult left Bing’s care.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “It is infuriating that a medical professional trusted to care for the well-being of a fellow Floridian would deliberately exploit their patient for ill-gotten financial gains. I am sickened that this patient was abandoned and left homeless as a result of the caretaker’s criminal activity. My office will continue working to ensure the proper safety and care of vulnerable citizens who depend on the Medicaid program.”
According to the investigation, Bing served as a caretaker for a disabled adult; however, the vulnerable adult was allegedly removed from Bing’s care in January. Bing purportedly continued to collect the vulnerable adult’s monthly Social Security payments, totaling $2,580, despite no longer being entitled to the funds. As a result of lack of disability assistance, social workers could not secure proper placement for the disabled adult. The victim then went to live in a homeless shelter. Upon being confronted by MFCU investigators, Bing provided a lease that computer forensic analysis proved to be a forgery created by Bing.
Bing is charged with one count of exploitation of a disabled adult, and one count of scheme to defraud, both third-degree felonies. If convicted, Bing faces up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. The State Attorney’s Office in the Ninth Judicial Circuit will prosecute the case.
