A Carroll County caregiver is facing some serious questions about her time sheets. She was arrested this week and charged with TennCare fraud and identity theft after a state Medicaid fraud investigation, with authorities alleging she billed the program for hours she never worked and used a beneficiary's signature without permission.
According to a Facebook post from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, special agents with the agency's Medicaid Fraud Control Division opened the case after a referral from TennCare's Office of Program Integrity in March 2025. Local outlet WBBJ‑TV reports the caregiver was booked into the Carroll County Jail and later released on a $2,500 bond.
Investigation timeline
In its social media statement, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said agents determined the caregiver was providing in‑home care from March through August 2024 and submitted time records for that period that did not match the hours she actually worked. Investigators obtained an arrest warrant in August 2025, and the suspect was taken into custody this week before being released on bond.
The bureau also stressed the procedural reality that often gets lost once handcuffs come out. “The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct,” the agency wrote, underscoring that the case still has to play out in court.
What the charges allege
WBBJ‑TV reports the suspect is identified in court records as 25‑year‑old Tatyana McClerkin (DOB 4/20/2000). She is accused of submitting time sheets for TennCare‑funded care that she did not actually provide and of using a TennCare member's signature without that person's permission. According to investigators cited by the station, the case began after TennCare flagged suspicious billing and referred the matter to the TBI's Medicaid Fraud Control Division.
State role and reporting
The TBI's Medicaid Fraud Control Division handles investigations into alleged provider fraud and patient abuse involving Tennessee's Medicaid program, with both federal and state dollars backing that work. More details on the unit are available on the TBI Medicaid Fraud Control Division page. Tennesseans who suspect TennCare fraud can find reporting information through TennCare.
Legal implications
McClerkin faces criminal counts of TennCare fraud and identity theft. Court records cited in local reporting indicate she was booked this week and released on a $2,500 bond. For now, those remain allegations, and she is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Additional court filings and any future trial date have not yet been posted publicly.
