JUL 19, 2022

Attorney General Alan Wilson announces North Carolina man arrested on Medicaid fraud charges in South Carolina

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (SCMFCU) has arrested Tommel Devon Hayes, 45, of Goldsboro, NC on Medicaid fraud charges. He’s charged with three counts of Obtaining Signature or Property by False Pretenses, value of $10,000 or more {16-13-240 (1)} and one count of Medical Assistance Provider Fraud (43-07-0060). Hayes was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on July 18, 2022.

An SCMFCU investigation revealed that on three occasions between the dates of October 10, 2015 and January 31, 2018, Hayes, the owner and operator of Columbia-based Clearscreen LLC, knowingly and willfully, by false pretense or representation, obtained money in excess of $10,000 with the intent to cheat and defraud the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid Program. It is also alleged that the defendant took part in creating and submitting fraudulent documents and claims to SC Medicaid for mental health services not rendered to numerous Medicaid beneficiaries who lived in Greenville and Florence.

Obtaining Signature or Property by False Pretenses, value $10,000 or more is a Class E felony and, upon conviction, has a penalty of a fine at the discretion of the court or a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Medical Assistance Provider Fraud is a Class A misdemeanor and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.

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 $1,927,636 for Federal fiscal year 2022. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $642,544 for FY 2022, is funded by South Carolina.

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