South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that his office’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF) has arrested Tami Ferguson Stewart, 65 years old, of Simpsonville, SC, and Sydney R. Weiss, 27 years old, of Pickens, SC, for alleged Medicaid provider fraud. A VAMPF investigation revealed that, between September 27, 2023, and February 25, 2024, Tami Stewart and Sydney Weiss conspired to defraud the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), the agency that administers South Carolina’s Medicaid program.
Investigators allege the following: Stewart, the owner of Above and Beyond Care Services, LLC, knowingly submitted fraudulent employee timesheets to SCDHHS for payment. These timesheets falsely claimed that personal care and respite services had been provided to a Medicaid beneficiary when, in fact, the services were not provided. The total amount of the fraudulent claims exceeded $10,000. Weiss, an employee of Above and Beyond Care Services, LLC, knowingly and willfully signed and submitted false timesheets representing that she had personally provided personal care and respite services to the same Medicaid beneficiary when she had not rendered those services. As a result, Weiss caused fraudulent claims totaling more than $10,000 to be submitted to Medicaid.