Attorney General Alan Wilson announces guilty plea, prison sentence for woman who kept vulnerable adults locked up in unlicensed home

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that on October 21, 2025, Estelle Amelia Hutchinson, 53 years old, of Orangeburg, S.C., pleaded guilty in Orangeburg County to one count of Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-85(C)}, one count of Criminal Conspiracy {16-17-410}, and one count of Operating a Community Residential Care Home Without a License. The Honorable Charles McCutchen sentenced Hutchinson to five years in prison, suspended to the service of three years active time in the South Carolina Department of Corrections, followed by three years of probation. Additionally, Hutchinson is prohibited from having any contact with boarding homes, nursing homes or any other residential care facility for vulnerable adults.

A SCAG Vulnerable Adult and Medicaid Provider Fraud (VAMPF) and Orangeburg Department of Public Safety (ODPS) investigation revealed that, between January 16, 2024, and February 15, 2024, Hutchinson, owner and operator of an unlicensed community residential care facility, ordered residents to be confined in locked rooms within the care facility and prevented the residents from accessing basic necessities such as food, clothing, medicine, shelter, supervision, medical services, and a safe means of egress. The residents were immediately taken into emergency protective custody by law enforcement. Additionally, ODPS firefighters identified that a malfunctioning natural gas heater in the facility was causing a buildup of gas fumes inside the residence, requiring the immediate evacuation and venting of the residence by emergency personnel.

Hutchinson’s co-conspirator, Tracy Timothy Wright, 52 years old, of Orangeburg, S.C., was sentenced on April 10, 2025, to three years in prison and two years of probation after pleading guilty to Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-0085 (C)}, and Criminal Conspiracy {16-17-410}. This was also prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.

Both cases were prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Emily Klebar.

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 $2,964,287 for federal fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $988,096 for FFY 2026, is funded by South Carolina.