Attorney General Alan Wilson announces arrest of Cheraw nursing facility employee charged with abusing resident

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (SCMFCU) has arrested Lottie M. Henderson, 70 years old, of Cheraw, SC, on four counts of Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-0085 (B)}. Henderson was booked into the Chesterfield County Detention Center on February 14, 2023.

An SCMFCU investigation revealed that on four separate dates, January 9, 2023, January 10, 2023, January 11, 2023, and February 1, 2023, while working as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a skilled nursing facility, Henderson inflicted physical abuse on a vulnerable adult resident of the facility. Specifically, it is alleged that on or about January 9, 2023, Henderson intentionally wrapped the victim’s head and face with clothing to restrict the victim’s movement, pushed the victim’s head into a bed, and pinned the victim’s arms under the defendant’s knees and body to subdue the victim’s movement. It is also alleged that on three separate occasions, on or about January 10, 2023, January 11, 2023, and February 1, 2023, Henderson sprayed the victim’s head, face, and body with an aerosol deodorant in order to control the victim’s movement, pushed the victim’s head into a bed, and pinned the victim’s arms under the defendant’s knees and body to subdue and restrict the victim’s movement.

These incidents occurred at Cheraw Healthcare Incorporated, a skilled nursing facility in Cheraw, S.C. The victim, a vulnerable adult under South Carolina law, resided at the facility during the time of the alleged misconduct.

This case was referred to the SCMFCU for investigation by the SC Department on Aging, Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. It will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. 

Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult is a felony, and upon conviction, has a penalty of up to five years in prison.  

Pursuant to federal regulations, the SCMFCU 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 all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

The SCMFCU receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $2,318,568 for federal fiscal year 2023. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $772,852 for FFY 2023, is funded by South Carolina.