By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – A 20-year-old Alabaster woman and a 25-year-old Alabaster man are facing possible prison time after they allegedly submitted a false Medicaid claim in March, according to court documents.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office arrested 20-year-old Haily Nicole Carden and 25-year-old Christopher Paul Hitt, who both list an address in the 60 block of Washington Lane in Alabaster, on Sept. 21 after they were indicted on one felony charge of Medicaid fraud apiece in mid-September.

According to their indictments, Carden and Hitt allegedly submitted a Medicaid statement falsely “claiming to have two minor children in (their) custody and failing to report job income resulting in claims in the approximate aggregate value of $9,678.52 … knowing the same to be false.”

Carden was released from the Shelby County Jail the same day she was arrested after posting a $10,000 bond.

Hitt currently is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

According to Alabama law, Medicaid fraud is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine upon conviction.

Carden is scheduled to appear in the Shelby County Courthouse for an arraignment on Nov. 3 at 8:30 a.m. As of Oct. 17, no court date was listed for Hitt.