KNOX COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division has resulted in the indictment of a McMinn County woman on identity theft and criminal impersonation charges.

In May 2020, TBI agents began investigating allegations of identity theft involving Ellen Michelle Small (DOB 3/21/74) after she applied for a nursing position at a facility in Farragut. During the course of the investigation, agents determined that Small did not have a nursing license but used the license number of an individual with a similar name to apply for the position.

Last week, the Knox County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Small with one count of Identity Theft and one count of Impersonation of a Licensed Professional. Today, she was arrested and booked into the Knox County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

The Tennessee Medicaid Fraud Control Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $6,862,935.00 for Federal fiscal year 2020. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $2,287,645.00 for FY 2021, is funded by the State of Tennessee.