Upstate man gets prison time for faking COVID-19 test

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - To avoid being placed back behind bars, an Upstate man faked a positive COVID-19 test - and it landed him in prison.

Orin Jerel Kemp, 45, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to obstruction of justice.

In April 2021, Kemp, who is from Pendleton, was facing charges of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and fraud out of Greenville County. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit filed a motion for Kemp’s bond to be revoked.

To prevent the court from revoking his bond, Kemp submitted a counterfeit positive COVID test result to the Greenville County Court of General Sessions. The motion to revoke his bond was delayed due to the fake test results.

Kemp’s charges for exploitation and fraud were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea in this case.

He was sentenced to six years in prison.