Attorney General Alan Wilson announces Spartanburg cousins arrested for stealing from assisted living home residents

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (SCMFCU) has arrested Amber Michelle Champion, 29 years old, of Spartanburg, SC on one count of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent {16-13-0230(A)} and Breanna Nicole Champion, 31 years old, of Spartanburg, SC on one count of Obtaining Signature or Property under False Pretenses {16-13-0240}. Both Amber and Breanna Champion were booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Center on July 18, 2023.

An investigation by the SCMFCU revealed that on December 26, 2022, while employed at the Charles Lea Center, a residential care facility in Spartanburg, Amber Champion used an EBT card belonging to a resident at the facility. It is alleged that Amber Champion, being entrusted with the funds and assets of residents, used the victim’s EBT card at an Ingles Grocery store in Spartanburg to purchase items for her own personal use. It is also alleged that Amber Champion gave a second resident’s EBT card to her cousin Breanna Champion and that Breanna knowingly used this card at a Walmart in Boiling Springs to purchase items for her own personal use with the intent to cheat and defraud the victim of their benefits.

This case was reported to law enforcement by the Charles Lea Center, which cooperated fully with investigators. Amber and Breanna Champion will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. 

Breach of trust with fraudulent intent under $2,000 is a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to 30 days in prison or a fine of not more than $1,000.  Obtaining signature or property by false pretenses under $2,000 is a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to 30 days in prison or a fine of not more than $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 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 $2,318,568 for federal fiscal year 2023. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $772,852 for FFY 2023, is funded by South Carolina.