- [Narrator] NPT reports, Aging Matters.

(gentle music) - My name is Ramona Smith, and I am a special agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

And I'm assigned to the Medicaid fraud control division.

(somber music) The Medicaid fraud control division as a whole investigates cases of Medicaid fraud and patient abuse.

Those are the two aspects of our cases.

Patient abuse involves patient abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, sexual exploitation, and drug diversion.

This work is so important to me because I've seen it evolve.

I've been almost 19 years doing this.

The way older adults, vulnerable adults, elderly individuals have been able to get better justice for the crimes that were committed against them, it has evolved in such a way where there's more awareness and in expanding these laws from the simple misdemeanor to these actual felony crimes, C, D and E felony crimes, justice comes in all different forms.

It's not just necessarily putting cuffs on someone and then sending them away for 20 years.

That's not the point.

The point is to get the victim as secure and as comfortable and help them to live as long a life as they can possibly live.

This is a generation we owe a lot to, and that is the justice that they deserve.

When it comes to investigations, coordination has become a key.

We look at it from a holistic perspective.

If you call APS at their 1-800 number, they're gonna notify a number of people, local law enforcement and TBI as well.

And you're going to have a group of people come to you to get you what you need, whether it be we need to help them get into a better home or something along those lines.

So it has really become working with you, the victim to get you what you need, whether it be just services, or it needs to be a criminal investigation full on from there.

That's why we're here.

We're here to get you the justice that you need and deserve.

We're going to get you the help through the services that are now out there that can help you to live a better life and not be a victim of this abuse anymore.