Owner of Now-Closed Milwaukee Prenatal Care Coordination Company Sentenced to 121 Months’ Imprisonment for Healthcare Fraud Scheme

Owner of Now-Closed Milwaukee Prenatal Care Coordination Company Sentenced to 121 Months' Imprisonment for Healthcare Fraud Scheme

Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on March 17, 2026, Markita Barnes (age 33) was sentenced to 121 months' incarceration for committing a healthcare fraud scheme through which she stole $2,361,799.17 from a Medicaid benefit program meant to help at-risk pregnant women and women with young children. Following a two-week trial in November 2025, a federal jury convicted Barnes 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. In announcing the sentence, Chief United States District Judge Pamela Pepper discussed the substantial negative impact Barnes' fraud scheme, and others like it in the Milwaukee area, has had not only on public trust in government benefit programs, but on the availability of the benefit program she defrauded. Chief Judge Pepper noted that, because of significant fraud surrounding this benefit program, the state of Wisconsin has scaled back the benefit to such an extent that it is largely not available to the women who actually need it.

Read more on https://www.justice.gov