In the news
December 1-7, 2025
By Justin Bates
UA Little Rock alumnus joins Enduring Opportunity with $25,000 scholarship
UA Little Rock alumnus Rodney M. Abston has committed a $25,000 gift to establish the Rodney M. Abston Family Enduring Opportunity Scholarship, becoming the latest donor to join the growing wave of support for the university’s Enduring Opportunity Scholarship Program.
His scholarship will support students who are balancing jobs, coursework, and financial challenges, and whose determination mirrors Abston’s own experience as a graduate student at UA Little Rock.
“The Enduring Opportunity Program resonates with me because it directly helps students working hard to pursue their dreams,” Abston said. “For students juggling a job while attending classes and struggling to make ends meet, this scholarship is a difference maker—allowing them to focus on their studies, make the most of their college experience, and obtain their degree.”
Abston, who earned his MBA while working full-time and raising an infant son, recalls the financial pressures he faced and the support that helped him succeed.
“At the time, money was especially tight for our young family. I borrowed my tuition payment at the start of every semester and paid it down as I could,” he said. “I worked a full-time job, took a full load of night courses, and was committed to being a present father. My goal was to provide my children with every opportunity my parents had provided to my three brothers and me.”
The newly established scholarship also honors his family’s vital role in his academic journey.
“My family served as a key driver when I enrolled in the MBA program, and they were instrumental in me finishing the program,” Abston said. “I’m incredibly grateful to my parents and my wife, Tracy, for supporting my dreams. I’m also grateful to my Regions teammates for their support throughout my nearly 20-year career with the bank.”
Abston sees each scholarship as a way to support Arkansas and its workforce.
“Each scholarship is an investment in its recipient, and it’s also an investment in the lives that student will serve as a future teacher, nurse, civil engineer, or business leader in our community,” he said. “The lasting impact touches thousands of lives, including future UA Little Rock students.”
To make a lasting commitment to student opportunity, please contact Stephanie Purifoy at 501-773-6955 or email spurifoy@ualr.edu.
Little Rock psychologist accused of defrauding Medicare, BCBS
By Sonny Albarado
Little Rock psychologist Krameelah Banks appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Thursday after a grand jury indicted her on 34 counts of wire fraud and making false statements this month.
Banks, 48, is accused of defrauding Medicare and Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield of more than $500,000, according to the indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Banks concealed her fraud by creating fictitious records and making false statements related to health care, according to a press release from Jonathan Ross, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Banks faces 23 counts of wire fraud, seven counts of making false statements in connection with health care, one count of lying to the FBI and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Banks owned Arkansas Behavioral Center (ABC), according to the indictment, and although she treated some regular patients, most of her patients were referrals who were seen just once for pre-surgical psychological evaluations.
The indictment alleges that from 2021 through 2023, Banks billed thousands of hours for psychological services that never occurred and routinely charged Medicare and Blue Cross in the names of patients she’d seen only once. Some of those billings included services that took place while she was vacationing in Florida and Mexico, according to the indictment.
The indictment also alleges Banks billed the federal insurance program and the insurance company for services to several deceased patients.
Banks responded to questions about disputed claims by creating fictitious records and providing nearly identical records to Medicare and Blue Cross and later misled the FBI by blaming over-billing on her calendaring software, the indictment alleges.
Banks was appointed a federal public defender at Thursday’s appearance, court records show.
arkansasadvocate.com
Photo Caption:
Rodney Abston
Photo Credit:
(Photo provided)
