LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued a statement today following the arrest of Melissa Ann Anthony-Ratliff, 36, a former employee of the city of Alexander, in Memphis, Tennessee. The arrest resulted from an investigation by the Public Integrity Unit of the Attorney General's office.
"I commend the agents in my office’s Public Integrity Unit who worked diligently to investigate this case. Corruption in any form is reprehensible, but violating the trust that Arkansans have in public servants is particularly egregious," said Griffin.
The investigation revealed that Anthony-Ratliff had falsely claimed to have worked more hours than she actually did during 2021 and 2022. These false claims led to her receiving more than twice her annual salary over those years.
Anthony-Ratliff was arrested on July 25 and charged with theft of property, a class B felony. She was extradited from Memphis to Pulaski County and is currently incarcerated at the Pulaski County Jail with a $10,000 bond.
To download a PDF version of this release, click here.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023. He previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023 and as the representative for Arkansas’s Second Congressional District from 2011-2015. During his time in Congress, he served on several committees including Ways and Means, Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Ethics, and Judiciary.
Griffin has been an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for over 28 years and holds the rank of colonel. He has served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq, and currently commands the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans. His previous assignments include commanding the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (formerly Bragg), North Carolina.
He earned a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College and has held various roles including U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas and Special Assistant to President George W. Bush.
Griffin graduated from Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, Tulane Law School in New Orleans, and attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin resides in Little Rock with his wife Elizabeth and their three children.
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