Attorney General Alan Wilson announces former assisted living facility employee sent to prison for stealing from resident

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that on March 3, 2025, Rebecca Jean Workman, 48 years old, of Hickory Grove, S.C. pleaded guilty in Lancaster County on Chester County indictments to one count of Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-85(D)}, one count of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent Value more than $2,000 but less than $5,000 {16-13-0230(A)}, and one count of Financial Transaction Card Fraud value more than $500 in six months. The Honorable Grace G. Knie presided over the hearing. Workman was sentenced to five years in prison, suspended to the service of three years active time in the South Carolina Department of Corrections, followed by five years of probation. Workman is also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,418.97, and she is to have no contact with the victims. The sentences are to run concurrently.

A Vulnerable Adult and Medicaid Provider Fraud (VAMPF) investigation revealed that on or about October 3, 2023, Workman, while employed at Palmetto Village, was entrusted with the victim’s funds and fraudulently converted those funds through multiple ATM withdrawals and debit card transactions for her own use. During the time of the alleged misconduct, the victim, a vulnerable adult under South Carolina law, resided at Palmetto Village in Chester County. The facility reported the activity to VAMPF. 

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

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 $2,889,252 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $963,084 for FFY 2025, is funded by South Carolina.