Attorney General Alan Wilson announces Upstate caregiver pleads guilty to abusing vulnerable adult
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Ursula M. Davis, 54 years old, of Clinton, SC, pleaded guilty in Laurens County General Sessions Court on February 8, 2023, to one felony count of Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult in violation of SC Code §43-35-85(D). She was sentenced to two years in prison suspended to 18 months of probation.
Davis’ guilty plea stems from her actions while working as a caregiver at NHC Laurens, a residential care facility, on July 17, 2022. During this time, Davis physically abused a resident of the facility by placing the victim in a headlock and striking the victim in the head, which resulted in the need for medical attention.
This case was investigated by the Laurens Police Department and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (SCMFCU). The case was also prosecuted by the SCMFCU.
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.
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.
