Memphis Caregiver Arrested, Charged with Abuse of Vulnerable Adult

SHELBY COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division has resulted in the arrest of an employee of a group home accused of abusing a vulnerable adult in her care.

In November, after receiving a referral from Adult Protective Services, TBI agents began investigating allegations against Queen Ester Reese (DOB: 04/02/51), who was working as a caregiver at the time of the alleged incident. During the course of the investigation, TBI agents determined that Reese was involved in the physical and emotional abuse of a male victim, who was an intellectually disabled TennCare patient.

On December 2^nd, after obtaining an arrest warrant, TBI agents took Reese into custody, charging her with Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult. She was booked into the Shelby County Jail on a $2,500 bond.

The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct and not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.

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 $11,616,724 for federal Fiscal Year 2025-2026. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $3,872,240 for Fiscal Year 2025-2026, is funded by the State of Tennessee.