SHELBY COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Medicaid Fraud Control Division into a report of abuse of a vulnerable adult has resulted in an arrest.

In August 2023, Special Agents received an allegation from Adult Protective Services that a vulnerable adult being cared for in a Memphis residence had been abused by the caregiver. During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that identified Dammie Avant as the caregiver responsible for the abuse of the victim.

In December 2023, the Shelby County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Dammie Monzqie Avant (DOB 12/27/1980) with one count of Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult. On May 3^rd, agents with the Medicaid Fraud Control Division and the Memphis Police Department arrested Avant on an outstanding warrant. He was booked into the Shelby County Jail.

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NOTE: The TBI’s 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 $8,983,614.75 for federal Fiscal Year 2023-2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $2,994,538.25 for Fiscal Year 2023-2024, is funded by the State of Tennessee.