SC

SCDHHS Records Thief Gets Probation

DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVE GETS OFF EASY … By FITSNEWS || A thieving Democratic operative who S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley wanted to “slam to the wall” was given a suspended sentence in lieu of jail time after pleading guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of confidential Medicaid records. Christopher Lykes – a close…

DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVE GETS OFF EASY …

By FITSNEWS || A thieving Democratic operative who S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley wanted to “slam to the wall” was given a suspended sentence in lieu of jail time after pleading guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of confidential Medicaid records.

Christopher Lykes – a close ally of S.C. Senators Darrell Jackson and Joel Lourie –  was busted stealing data on 228,435 Medicaid recipients from the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) in early 2012.

Jackson and Lourie both run companies with ties to the health care or insurance industries – and Lykes was a contractor for “independent providers” affiliated with those companies.

(No wonder Democrats can’t get enough Medicaid expansion, right?)

Haley – whose own office has had some issues in this regard – was furious over the theft.

“I told (S.C. State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel) to slam him to the wall,” Haley said. “Do whatever we can to make an example of him.”

That didn’t happen.  On Thursday, the S.C. Attorney General’s office announced Lykes had been sentenced to thirty months in prison – a sentence suspended on three years probation.  Oh, and three hundred hours of community service.  In other words – Lykes won’t see the inside of a jail cell.

Chris Lykes

Is this fair?  No.

Of course it’s hardly surprising.  The judge who granted Lykes this slap on the wrist – circuit court judge Alison Lee – is notorious for giving criminals lenient treatment.  In fact she’s the one who – over the objections of prosecutors – allowed Lorenzo Bernard Young to walk the streets of Columbia, S.C. while facing a host of serious criminal charges.

Young and one of his buddies later celebrated their freedom by murdering a 33-year-old white woman (and single mother of four children).

And no … race has nothing to do with anything (at least not from our perspective).  A white judge granting similar leniency to a white suspect who turned around and killed a black victim should be similarly excoriated.

Lee was nominated recently by U.S. president Barack Obama to serve as a district court judge – but her appointment encountered significant resistance from “Republicans” and Democrats alike.

Six weeks ago – to little fanfare – Obama withdrew Lee’s nomination after U.S. Sen. Tim Scott announced his intention to oppose it.

Anyway …

While Haley obviously has no room to talk when it comes to other people’s unethical actions, she is absolutely correct in asserting that Lykes should have received a much more serious punishment for this crime.

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25 comments

sparklecity November 6, 2014 at 4:26 pm

Yeah, just like Queen Namrata has “slammed to the wall’ whoever hacked the Dept. Of Revenue and potentially disrupted thousands of taxpayers lives for years to come!!!!!
Give me a fucking break!!!!!!!

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diamond jim November 6, 2014 at 6:28 pm

Law enforcement could have been working on that until “hackers” allegedly shut Fits down on election night. Probably chasing that “scheme” around. :-)

They may be trying to escape on Allegiant Airlines via Moore/Spartanburg and Tucumcari? Oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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shifty henry November 6, 2014 at 4:39 pm

This is the kind of “justice” that sours my stomach.

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Hike'm up November 6, 2014 at 4:41 pm

You got the quote wrong:

““I told (S.C. State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel) to slam ME to the wall,” Haley said.”

She didn’t give two shits about Lykes.

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southmauldin November 6, 2014 at 4:52 pm

Sounds like he was placed lightly against the drywall.

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jimlewisowb November 6, 2014 at 8:46 pm

Sounds like he was allowed to look at the drywall then go home

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Smirks November 6, 2014 at 4:57 pm

Slightly tapped on the wrist with a foam paddle.

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guesty November 6, 2014 at 5:07 pm

How do we know AG Wilson’s office didn’t cut this deal with him to plea guilty and spill the goods on others? Wilson did defer his sentencing for over a year after he pled guilty.

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Town Crier November 6, 2014 at 6:51 pm

If this case was prosecuted by the grant funded section I’m thinking of…they rarely go to court and their cases plod along like molasses. The two overpaid bureaucrats that lead that section should have been put out to pasture long ago. Wilson’s aware of the level of incompetence there, but most info he gets is well-filtered (and he has been very busy in term one), so I can’t lay all the blame on him. Let the excellent staff elsewhere in his office prosecute these fraud cases, send the investigative functions to law enforcement, like SLED.

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nitrat November 6, 2014 at 10:29 pm

SLED?…really?

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Town Crier November 6, 2014 at 11:09 pm

I understand where you’re coming from. But still…better to have cases investigated by certified law enforcement officers in an accredited law enforcement agency than the current setup of state investigators in a non-law enforcement agency reporting to a over-paid bureaucrat with little prosecution experience and no law enforcement experience.

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Bible Thumper November 6, 2014 at 5:56 pm

This is probably standard. I hate it though. They have long sentences to use as leverage for a guilty plea, but no one ever serves them. I wish they at least served some time in prison just to say that they went to prison. Bobby Harrell to.

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Town Crier November 6, 2014 at 6:56 pm

Wonder why this wasn’t prosecuted by the feds?

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nitrat November 6, 2014 at 10:28 pm

Can’t they at least make these white collar criminals spend their weekends in jail?

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Just Me November 8, 2014 at 8:48 am

He could have spent 3 years in jail but the judge said “Naaahhhh have a nice day”

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heyhey November 7, 2014 at 12:24 am

Bad judge. Very bad, indeed. She needs to be thrown off the bench like Segars-Andrews was.

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heyhey November 7, 2014 at 12:25 am

Probation is NO DETERENT. Probation is a pathetic joke!

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John November 7, 2014 at 9:03 am

Non violent offender. Do we really need to imprison him and use space that should be saved for someone else? Like an Eckstrom, for example?

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John November 7, 2014 at 9:22 am

“Young and one of his buddies later
celebrated their freedom by murdering a 33-year-old white woman (and
single mother of four children).

And no … race has nothing to do with anything (at least not from our perspective).”

Will, if race has nothing to do with it, then why mention the race of the murder victim? Is the crime any different then if it had been a 33-year-old black woman or 33-year-old Hispanic woman? If there’s no difference, then why mention the race? If it makes a difference, then perhaps you could explain why. Your whole paragraph explaining that race doesn’t matter wouldn’t be necessary if you didn’t mention the race of the victim.

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Punish The Judges November 7, 2014 at 10:32 am

Excellent example. You can steal thousands of other people’s medical records, and not do a day in prison for it. What kind of FUCKED UP message has this scum bucket judge sent???? MY GOD South Carolina is a fucking shipwreck of pretentious buttwipes.

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Tazmaniac November 7, 2014 at 11:13 am

The guy could have potentially provided info for Million$$ in frauds, no prison. Let the same homey have some pot down in the projects and he is doing 5 years. Seem fair/equal?

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guest November 7, 2014 at 2:42 pm

I’m not surprised, none of the banksters that brought down the world economy went to prison.

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SCPSD November 7, 2014 at 4:54 pm

John Edwards, Charlie Rangel, OJ Simpsn, Bill Clinton, Robert Ford…it is two Americas…if you are guilty and Democrat…you walk free…

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Guero November 7, 2014 at 8:03 pm

That’s rich. OJ was a registered Repugnant. Ollie North, Saint Ronnie, and Cap Weinberger should have shared a cell ….

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GrandTango November 8, 2014 at 7:26 am

You DUMB@$$…they did not commit any CRIME. And OJ is yours and ALL yours. He fit every LEFTWING cause known to man, you lying piece of S#!t. Own up to what you are. You slimy b@$t@*ds always turn coward when what you are is exposed…

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