Wisconsin Medicaid Fraudster Who Wrote Her Name in Diamonds Gets 10 Years
Republican governor candidate Tom Tiffany vows to audit everything after $2.3 million Wisconsin Medicaid fraud exposed
A Milwaukee woman found guilty of stealing $2.3 million from a Medicaid program meant to help women and children has been sentenced to just over 10 years—121 months—in prison, according to a statement from First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Markita Barnes, 33, ended up buying meaningless luxury items instead of helping anyone with the money she grifted.
Like the bogus Somali-run day care centers in Minnesota, this Wisconsin crime is one of many recently exposed schemes where taxpayer money is diverted from programs meant to help vulnerable people and instead is pocketed by people entrusted with administering the programming.
Setting the Conditions for Corruption
Corruption grows wherever the conditions are ripe, requiring only a stream of government money and absent oversight from government leadership. This happened on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' watch. Evers is still not keen on accountability.
Tom Tiffany, Republican candidate for Wisconsin Governor, believes the state should proactively investigate to find and stop any other potential fraud.
"We don't know the full scope of fraud in Wisconsin because [Gov. Tony Evers] won't allow audits of food stamps or Medicaid," Tiffany posted on social media. "As governor, I will audit every program and every agency."
$2.3 million in Medicaid fraud meant for at-risk mothers and children is just the beginning.
— Tom Tiffany (@TomTiffanyWI) March 19, 2026
We don’t know the full scope of fraud in Wisconsin because @GovEvers won’t allow audits of food stamps or Medicaid.
As governor, I will audit every program and every agency. https://t.co/Ll4SNOxAke
Wisconsin's Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul told the Trump Administration in August that it would not allow Medicaid data to be used "for the purposes of immigration enforcement, population surveillance, or other invasive purposes." The move blocks an audit that could identify additional fraud.
Markita Barnes, owner and operator of Here For You Prenatal Care Coordination Services, was convicted of ten counts of healthcare fraud, three counts of false statements related to healthcare matters, three counts of violating the anti-kickback statute, one count of attempting to obstruct a healthcare fraud investigation, one count of money laundering, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
The court sentenced her to prison and she must pay back the money she stole.
The Government Program
According to a 2023 indictment, Here For You Prenatal Care Coordination Services had the stated mission to help at-risk pregnant women and women with young children by operating two free state programs called Prenatal Care Coordination (PNCC)and Child Care Coordination (CCC). These programs interview women and suggest programs such as free food, housing, and transportation.
The public health goal is to improve circumstances among women considered high risk for poor birth outcomes. According to the indictment, "Wisconsin has historically had the highest rate of infant mortality for black women in the nation." The PNCC program aims to identify women in need early in their pregnancy so they can receive individual psychosocial, health, nutrition, and education support. It also tries to connect them to community, health and social services they may need. Similarly, the CCC program promotes positive parenting, improves child health outcomes and mitigates against child abuse and neglect.
The Scheme
For 14 months, between October 2020 and December 2021, Barnes advertised on Facebook and around the community for new mothers to enroll in her company's PNCC and CCC programs. In exchange for signing up, she offered $100 and free diapers, wipes, strollers, and play pens at "community baby showers," the indictment says.
In other words, come get cash and free stuff to get hooked up with free services. But, although Barnes's business submitted 32,285 claims for payment to Medicaid, clients in need never got the services they needed.
Barnes instructed her employees to falsify and inflate billing to Wisconsin Medicaid, and she gave them an incentive, tying their earnings to the amount they billed so they could all "eat," that is, benefit from the scheme. She allowed employees to hand in paperwork predated a month ahead, court papers show.
"That Barnes's business strategy was focused on bilking Medicaid for as much as possible, rather than actually making a difference in the lives of her clients, is evident in the way she and her employees discussed the work in the GroupMe messages that played prominently at trial," a presentencing memo reads.
She warned employees to stay on top of paperwork so the state would not shut them down, text messages shared at the trial show.
Barnes submitted bills to Wisconsin Medicaid for $2.5 million. Of that, she was not entitled to at least $2.3 million, according to the indictment.
Once she had the names and private information of her "clients," Barnes used the names to file claims for reimbursement. She reported multiple times that she spent two hours connecting a client with the Women, Infants and Children's (WIC) food program, SNAP, and healthcare services, but never provided the services.
She paid her "clients" $50 to refer other women to the business.
When the FBI investigated, Barnes instructed her employees to "remind" clients to tell investigators that the progress reports written about them were true, according to the indictment.
The Spending
While Barnes was playing the part of a public servant, she used your tax dollars to cut a cashier's check and buy a $74,500 Mercedes Benz.
"From day one, Barnes's business was permeated with fraud," the Department of Justice's (DOJ) sentencing memo reads. "Indeed, Barnes set up her company to operate as a fraud machine—complete with employees she taught to lie, clients she bribed to give her their information, and paperwork she doctored to evade detection."
A mother of two young children, Barnes spent plenty of money on herself. She had a custom-made diamond encrusted pendant made that reads "KITA" and another that says "JETT," plus a set of diamond cluster earrings.
She bought a custom-made Rolex watch with diamonds and an Audi truck all with her Medicaid fraud money. The judge says she must give it all back. She traveled the country and bragged about it on social media, court papers show.
'Restoration News asked the Evers administration what he has done to assure such fraud would not happen again, but the governor's office did not respond.
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