S.C. Attorney General investigation ends with Kennedy arrest

David E. Kennedy

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Tuesday that local pastor and activist David E. Kennedy has been charged with exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

Kennedy, 70, was booked into the Greenville County Detention Center Monday.

According to a release from Wilson’s office:

An investigation by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department “revealed that, between Oct. 11, 2017 and April 13, 2022, Kennedy, as the victim’s power-of-attorney, knowingly and willfully made unlawful and improper use of the funds and assets of a vulnerable adult. It is further alleged that Kennedy used the victim’s funds for his own personal use while the victim was incapacitated at Prisma Heath Upstate in Greenville.”

This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult is a felony. Kennedy, who is president of the Laurens County Branch of the NAACP, could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 or both if convicted.

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 release read.

Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.