South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that Towodi T. Shequoyah, 39 years old, of Easley, SC, was found guilty in Sumter County General Sessions Court on November 16, 2023. This guilty verdict was delivered by a Sumter County jury on the charges of Attempt to Commit Criminal Sexual Conduct, 3rd Degree {SC16-3-654}, Attempt to Commit Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult {43-35-85(B)}, and Indecent Exposure {16-15-130}. Shequoyah was sentenced to eight years in prison at the South Carolina Department of Corrections for Attempt to Commit Criminal Sexual Conduct, five years in prison for Attempted Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult, and three years in prison for Indecent Exposure. All three sentences are to run concurrently per order of the Court.
Shequoyah’s guilty verdict stems from his actions while working as a Licensed Practical Nurse at Blue Ridge of Sumter, a skilled nursing facility in Sumter, SC, on February 19, 2021. During this time, Shequoyah willfully, maliciously, and indecently exposed his genitals while in the bedroom of a resident at the facility in an attempt to sexually assault the resident. The victim was classified as a vulnerable adult under South Carolina law. The conduct was reported to law enforcement after another employee entered the room to check on the resident and witnessed the incident.
This case was investigated by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (SCMFCU). The case was prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Attorney General Ken Moore and Assistant Attorney General Brandon Steen of 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 $2,698,638 for federal fiscal year 2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $899,546 for FFY 2024, is funded by South Carolina.
Original source can be found here.