Attorney General Alan Wilson announces Anderson nursing assistant charged with stealing from vulnerable adult

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF) has arrested Constanza Athena Tate, 31 years old, of Anderson, S.C. 

Tate faces the following charges:

• One count of Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult {§ 43-35-85(D)}
• One count of Financial Transaction Card Fraud, value more than $500 in a six-month period {§ 16-14-0060(A)(1-5)}

Tate was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center on July 17, 2026.

A joint investigation by VAMPF and the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office concluded that Tate knowingly and willfully exploited a vulnerable adult. The alleged exploitation occurred on November 3, 2025.

According to investigators, Tate—who was employed as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Seneca Health and Rehabilitation Center, where the victim resided—fraudulently used the victim’s credit card number without permission. Investigators determined that Tate used the card number for purchases totaling more than $500 for her own personal gain. The victim qualified as a vulnerable adult under South Carolina law during the period of the alleged misconduct.

Seneca Health and Rehabilitation Center reported the suspected financial exploitation to law enforcement and fully cooperated throughout the investigation.

 South Carolina Offenses and Penalties:

• Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult – Felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years, a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.
• Financial Transaction Card Fraud, value more than $500 in a Six-Month Period – Felony, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years, a fine of not less than $3,000, or both.

This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

Pursuant to federal regulations, VAMPF has authority over Medicaid provider fraud; abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries in any setting; and the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of individuals residing in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. 

Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

The South Carolina Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, dba VAMPF, receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $2,964,287 for federal fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $988,096 for FFY 2026, is funded by South Carolina.