South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced the arrest of Mikalia S. Mitchell, a 32-year-old resident of Pacolet, South Carolina. Mitchell faces charges including two counts of forgery with a value less than $10,000 and one count of medical assistance provider fraud. The arrest was made by the Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF) on June 12, 2025.
The investigation by VAMPF alleges that between August 1, 2024, and January 25, 2025, Mitchell knowingly submitted false claims for payments to the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. As a personal care attendant, she is accused of forging signatures on timesheets and submitting falsified records to claim services provided to two Medicaid beneficiaries which were not rendered.
Attorney General Wilson’s office will prosecute the case. If convicted of forgery, which is a felony charge carrying up to five years in prison or a fine at the court’s discretion or both, Mitchell could face significant penalties. The medical assistance provider fraud charge is classified as a class A misdemeanor with potential penalties of up to three years in prison and fines up to $1,000.
The VAMPF unit operates under federal regulations allowing it authority over Medicaid provider fraud as well as abuse and neglect cases involving Medicaid beneficiaries in various settings. Attorney General Wilson emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Funding for VAMPF comes primarily from a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services covering 75 percent of its budget for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining funding is provided by South Carolina.
