Attorney General Alan Wilson announces two employees charged with stealing from assisted-living home residents in Chester

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (SCMFCU) has arrested Rebecca Jean Workman, 47 years old, of Hickory Grove, S.C., and Sherard A. Feaster, 40 years old, of Chester, S.C.

Workman was arrested on eight counts of Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-0085(D)}, three counts of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent {16-13-0230(A)}, three counts of Financial Transaction Card Fraud {16-14-0060(A)(1-5)} and one count of Criminal Conspiracy {16-17-0410}. Feaster was arrested on three counts of Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-0085(D)}, three counts of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent {16-13-0230(A)}, three counts of Financial Transaction Card Fraud {16-14-0060(A)(1-5)} and one count of Criminal Conspiracy {16-17-0410}. Both Workman and Feaster were booked into the Chester County Detention Center on January 10, 2024.

An investigation by the SCMFCU and the Chester County Sheriff’s Office revealed that, between May 19, 2023 and October 3, 2023, Workman and Feaster, while employed at the Palmetto Village of Chester, an assisted living facility, knowingly and willfully made unlawful and improper use of the funds and assets of eight vulnerable adult residents. It is further alleged that Workman and Feaster conspired together in using their positions of trust, as facility employees, to gain access to resident’s debit and/or credit cards to obtain money, goods, or services without the consent or permission of the victims. 

This case was reported to law enforcement by the Palmetto Village of Chester, which cooperated fully with investigators. Workman and Feaster 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 not exceeding five thousand dollars, or both. Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent, value $2,000 but less than $10,000, is a felony and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a fine at the discretion of the court. Financial Transaction Card Fraud is a felony and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of not less than three thousand dollars or more than five thousand dollars, or both. Conspiracy is a felony and, upon conviction, has a penalty of up to five years in prison or a fine of not more than five thousand dollars.

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 $2,698,638 for federal fiscal year 2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $899,546 for FFY 2024, is funded by South Carolina.