Orangeburg care home owner gets prison for locking up residents

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - An Orangeburg woman has pleaded guilty to elder abuse and sentenced to prison for locking up residents in an unlicensed care home.

Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Estelle Amelia Hutchinson, 53, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Orangeburg County to one count of neglect of a vulnerable adult, one count of criminal conspiracy, and one count of operating a community residential care home without a license.

Judge Charles McCutchen sentenced her to five years in prison, suspended to three years’ active time in the South Carolina Department of Corrections, followed by three years of probation.

Hutchinson is barred from contact with boarding homes, nursing homes, or any other residential care facility for vulnerable adults.

An investigation revealed that between Jan. 16 and Feb. 15, 2024, Hutchinson ordered residents to be confined in locked rooms and denied them access to basic necessities such as food, clothing, medicine, shelter, supervision, medical services, and a safe means of exit.

After the ordeal, the residents were immediately taken into emergency protective custody by law enforcement.

Orangeburg firefighters found a malfunctioning natural gas heater was causing a buildup of fumes inside the residence, requiring the immediate evacuation and venting of the residence.

Hutchinson’s co-conspirator, Tracy Timothy Wright, 52, of Orangeburg, was sentenced April 10 to three years in prison and two years of probation after pleading guilty to neglect of a vulnerable adult and criminal conspiracy. 

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Orangeburg care home owner gets prison for locking up residents 

Anderson woman charged in 3 Upstate counties with practicing medicine without license, officials say

by Janice Limon

alyssa beth steele, charged with practicing medicine without a license
SOURCE: Anderson County Detention Center

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A woman faces charges in three Upstate counties for practicing medicine without a license at seven nursing and assisted living facilities, state officials said Thursday.

Alyssa Beth Steele, 37, of Anderson, is charged in Anderson, Greenville and Pickens counties, where investigators said she worked as a registered nurse without the required certifications, qualifications, or training, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.

Steele was arrested in Anderson County Monday, in Greenville County on Tuesday, and in Pickens County on Wednesday, officials said.

Investigators said between Jan. 15, 2020, and June 13, 2021, Steele used a State of Georgia Board of Nursing license number belonging to someone else to gain employment as a registered nurse in seven facilities.

"By holding herself out as having credentials she did not possess, Steele’s conduct resulted in a failure to provide adequate medical care and services to vulnerable adults and presented a substantial risk of causing physical or mental injuries to the residents under her care," officials said in a news release.

Investigators said Steele worked as a registered nurse at the following Upstate nursing and assisted living facilities:

• Cascades Verdae Assisted Living Facility in Greenville
• Iva Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Iva
• Piedmont Post Acute, in Piedmont
• Brookdale Assisted Living Facility, in Anderson
• Condor Health, in Anderson
• Easley Place Assisted Living Facility in Easley
• Fleetwood Rehabilitation and Healthcare Assisted Living in Easley

All the above facilities fully cooperated with the investigation, officials said.

Steele faces the following charges:

• 7 counts of neglect of a vulnerable adult, felony, carries up to 5 years in prison
• 5 counts of unlicensed practice as a registered nurse, carries one year in prison or a fine of not more than $50,000 dollars
• Financial identity fraud to obtain employment, felony, carries a fine or imprisonment up to 10 years
• Obtaining signature or property under false pretenses, value of $10,000 or more, felony, a fine of up to $500 and up to 10 years in prison

Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit led the investigation.

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Anderson woman charged in 3 Upstate counties with practicing medicine without license, officials say