Attorney General Alan Wilson announces Edgefield nursing facility housekeeper charged with stealing from resident

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (SCMFCU) has arrested Mary E. Rouse, 22 years old, of Graniteville, S.C., for Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-0085 (D)}. Rouse was booked into the Edgefield County Detention Center on November 3, 2023.

An investigation by the SCMFCU revealed that on February 28, 2023, Rouse made unlawful and unauthorized use of the funds and assets of a vulnerable adult. It is alleged that Rouse, a former contract housekeeper at Edgefield Post Acute, accessed the victim’s bank account and made unauthorized transfers. The victim, a vulnerable adult under South Carolina law, resided at Edgefield Post Acute, a skilled nursing facility in Edgefield during the time of the alleged misconduct. Edgefield Post Acute cooperated fully with investigators.

This case was referred to the SCMFCU from the Upper Savannah Council of Governments’ Long Term Care Ombudsman Program and will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. 

Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult is a felony and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. 

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 $2,698,638 for federal fiscal year 2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $899,546 for FFY 2024, is funded by South Carolina.