Attorney General Alan Wilson announces housekeeper charged with stealing from assisted living residents

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF) has arrested Cecily Haselden, 30, of Lexington, S.C. 

Haselden faces the following charges:

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

Haselden was booked into the Lexington County Detention Center on September 1, 2026.

A joint investigation by VAMPF and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office alleges that Haselden used her position as a housekeeper at an assisted living facility to knowingly and willfully exploit four of its vulnerable adult residents.

Investigators report that Haselden, who was employed at Rapha Residential Care located in Lexington County, is accused of taking the victims’ debit cards without permission and using them for personal purchases between the dates of August 2025 and January 2026. The unauthorized transactions on each card totaled more than $500 within a six‑month period. The victims qualified as vulnerable adults under South Carolina law at the time of the alleged misconduct.

Rapha Residential Care cooperated fully 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.