Milwaukee prenatal care owner gets 10 years for fraud

The former owner of a Milwaukee prenatal care company that was supposed to help low-income pregnant women, mothers and babies has been sentenced to just over 10 years in prison after being convicted on felony fraud charges.

Markita Barnes, who ran one of Wisconsin’s largest prenatal care coordination companies, was sentenced March 17 at the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee.

Barnes was found guilty in November of 20 federal felony charges, including health care fraud, identity theft, paying kickbacks and obstructing a fraud investigation. The jury found that she pocketed $2.3 million in Medicaid money meant to support at-risk moms and prevent babies from dying before their first birthdays.

Chief U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper sentenced Barnes to 10 years and one month in prison and three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $2.36 million each in restitution and forfeiture.

Pepper told Barnes that as a result of the “staggering amount of fraud” committed by Barnes and others, the state’s prenatal care coordination program had been dramatically curtailed or cut entirely in some neighborhoods.

The fraud caused “a huge amount of damage to the public trust in public programs” and to the communities they were supposed to serve, Pepper said.

Pepper acknowledged Barnes was not accused of murder or any other violent crimes before adding, “But something died here.”

Barnes cried as she said what weighs on her most is the effect the case has had on her children and her family.

“It’s something that breaks my heart every day,” she said in the courtroom, which was full of about two dozen family members and friends.

Prosecutors said Barnes and her company, Here for You Prenatal Care Coordination Services, used Medicaid money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including spending on travel, luxury items from Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and a Rolex watch.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Stewart quoted messages from Barnes describing her operation as “a game,” “a hustle,” and “a way to make sure we all eat.”

“The scheme worked, and she collected millions of dollars,” Stewart said.

Stewart said the program, which is meant to help prevent Black and Brown babies from dying before their first birthdays, is now basically “dead in the water.”

The jury found Barnes used items like diapers, wipes and baby items to entice pregnant women and mothers of young children to sign up for her company, then billed Medicaid for services she wasn’t providing.

During the trial, several moms testified that they received items like diapers and wipes, but not the support services the company was supposed to provide. The mothers said they didn’t realize Here for You was billing Medicaid, and frequently back-billed months before the women signed up to be clients.

Barnes was also convicted on a money laundering charge related to her purchase of a 2019 Mercedes-Benz from an Illinois car dealer for nearly $75,000.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office praised Barnes’ sentence, saying, “The substantial sentence imposed against Ms. Barnes holds her accountable for her very serious crimes. She stole limited public resources that were intended for our neighbors most in need of public assistance. Many people in need of help did not receive it due to the defendant’s actions.”

This case and others follow a 2022 Journal Sentinel investigation into prenatal care coordination companies, or PNCCs, an industry that has been plagued by fraud in recent years. The companies are meant to help connect low-income pregnant women and mothers with badly needed health, counseling and referral services.

The investigation uncovered widespread problems with fraudulent billing at a number of Milwaukee-area PNCCs, including charging taxpayers for services that were never provided and product giveaways at “community baby showers” used to obtain mothers’ Medicaid numbers, which allowed some companies to submit fake bills to Medicaid.

Wisconsin has long had one of the highest rates of Black infant mortality in the nation. In Wisconsin, Black babies are three times more likely to die than white babies, and Black women are five times more likely to die from complications linked to pregnancy and childbirth.

Another former prenatal care company owner, Precious Cruse, who ran Caring Through Love on Milwaukee’s northwest side, was sentenced in January to more than nine years in prison and ordered to pay about $780,000 in restitution. Cruse was convicted on 17 federal felony charges, including health care fraud and identity theft.

And a third former company owner, LaKia Jackson, who ran the now-defunct We Care Services, pleaded guilty in December to health care fraud and identity theft, both felonies. She has a sentencing hearing scheduled for today.