Attorney General Alan Wilson announces Laurens man charged with exploiting vulnerable adult

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (SCMFCU) has arrested David E. Kennedy, 70 years old, of Laurens, S.C., on one count of Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-0085 (D)}.  Kennedy was booked into the Greenville County Detention Center on October 9, 2023.

An investigation by the SCMFCU and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department revealed that, between October 11, 2017 and April 13, 2022, Kennedy, as the victim’s power-of-attorney, knowingly and willfully made unlawful and improper use of the funds and assets of a vulnerable adult. It is further alleged that Kennedy used the victim’s funds for his own personal use while the victim was incapacitated at Prisma Heath Upstate in Greenville.

This case 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 that 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.