SC couple neglected & stole over $300,000 from vulnerable adult, officials say
A couple was charged with stealing from, while also neglecting a vulnerable adult that was in their care, according to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Anderson residents Randall Aaron Simmons, 47, and Tonya Elizabeth Simmons, 45, stole more than $300,000 from the vulnerable adult for their personal benefit for more than 2 years, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.
Both were charged with two counts of criminal conspiracy, and single counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, neglect of a vulnerable adult as well as crimes against a federally chartered or insured financial institution, according to the release.
Randall Simmons also faces a breach of trust with fraudulent intent (value $10,000 or more) charge, while Tonya Simmons was charged with one count of receiving stolen goods (value $10,000 or more), the S.C. Attorney General’s Office said.
An investigation by the S.C. Attorney General’s office’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office showed that between Aug. 3, 2022, and Sept. 3, 2024, the couple conspired together to exploit and neglect a vulnerable adult, according to the release. Their connection to the victim was not available.
The couple “knowingly and intentionally misappropriated $329,869.08 of the victim’s money and assets ... without authorization,” the S.C. Attorney General’s Office said.
Randall and Tonya Simmons removed the victim from a skilled nursing facility and took over responsibility for the victim’s care, according to the release. They are accused of neglecting the victim by failing to provide adequate food, assistance with basic daily activities, and essential personal hygiene care and supplies, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office said.
Randall Simmons, who had been granted control over the victim’s finances, fraudulently diverted those funds for his own use, according to the release. While Tonya Simmons knowingly received and accepted numerous Zelle transfers originating from the victim’s stolen bank account, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office said.
Neither Randall nor Tonya Simmons is currently listed on the Greenville County Detention Center’s inmate roster, and information about their bond situations was not available. Both will be prosecuted by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office.
If convicted on all charges, Randall Simmons faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and a fine that could exceed $30,000, while Tonya Simmons would face the same amount of time behind bars and a maximum fine of $32,000, according to South Carolina law.
“The Greenville County Sheriff’s office does not tolerate any illegal activity, especially dealing with the most vulnerable members of our community,” Sheriff Hobart Lewis said in the release. “We are proud to assist the Attorney General’s Office Vulnerable Adult and Medicaid Provider Fraud Unit to apprehend any and every criminal who preys on the weak.”
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