South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced on April 6 that Wilhelmina C. Rellora, 66, of Hanahan, has been charged following an investigation into Park Circle Home, a Community Residential Care Facility in North Charleston.
The case centers on allegations that Rellora, as the licensed administrator and caregiver at the facility, failed to provide necessary care and services to protect vulnerable adult residents. According to arrest warrants, these failures allegedly resulted in the deaths of two residents and caused serious injury to a third resident. Rellora was booked into the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center on April 6.
The South Carolina Office of the Attorney General is prosecuting this case. “Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.” The ongoing investigation is being handled by the Attorney General’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud Unit (VAMPF), which operates under federal regulations overseeing Medicaid provider fraud as well as abuse or neglect in assisted living facilities or nursing homes.
A Community Residential Care Facility (CRCF) in South Carolina provides room and board along with personal care for adults who are not related to the owner or operator within three degrees of consanguinity. State law defines such residents as vulnerable adults during their stay at these facilities.
The South Carolina Attorney General supports victims through advocacy efforts aimed at community safety according to its official website. The office also serves as the state’s main legal advocate, handling prosecutions and regulatory enforcement according to its official website. Alan Wilson leads these efforts according to its official website, with operations extending statewide according to its official website.
In addition, the office enforces laws regarding securities and consumer protection according to its official website and works with state law enforcement agencies on criminal prosecutions according to its official website.
The South Carolina Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives most of its funding from federal sources but also relies on state funds for its work investigating abuse among Medicaid beneficiaries.
