MAURY COUNTY – An investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division has resulted in the arrest of a Mt. Pleasant caregiver who is charged with abuse of her patient.

After receiving information from Adult Protective Services about a complaint of abuse of a vulnerable adult, Agents began investigating Melissa Thiele on November 26, 2018. At the time, Thiele was a caregiver, working with a client in Columbia who has an intellectual disability, and her duties included providing daily living assistance. During the course of the investigation, Agents developed information indicating Thiele was responsible for the physical assault of that patient in an incident earlier that month. Thiele is no longer an employee of that caregiver service.

On February 12th, the Maury County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Melissa Thiele, 52, with one count of Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult. She was arrested by deputies on Thursday and booked at the Maury County Jail on a $15,000 bond.