Milwaukee prenatal care owner guilty of $2.3M Medicaid fraud

The former owner of a Milwaukee prenatal care company that was supposed to help low-income pregnant women, mothers and babies was found guilty of 20 federal felony charges, including health care fraud, identity fraud, obstructing a fraud investigation and paying kickbacks.

Markita Barnes, the owner and operator of the now-defunct Here for You, a prenatal care coordination company, was convicted of collecting $2.3 million in Medicaid money for services that were not performed. The evidence presented at trial established that Barnes and her employees exploited vulnerable pregnant women and young mothers by luring them into the company’s prenatal care coordination program with kickbacks in the form of cash enrollment bonuses and free baby items such as car seats, pack ‘n plays, diapers and wipes. Once enrolled, Barnes’ company unlawfully used the women’s personal information to submit claims to Medicaid for services that were never provided, often backdating the claims to months before anyone at the company had met or enrolled the client. Participants often received only occasional deliveries of diapers and wipes, and in some cases, nothing at all.

The evidence showed Barnes also used her fraud proceeds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including luxury travel, designer clothing and a $75,000 Mercedes.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Pamela Pepper will sentence Barnes on March 17, 2026. Barnes faces a mandatory minimum two-year sentence on the aggravated identity theft charges and a maximum 20 years of prison for each of the healthcare fraud charges.