Woman accused of $2.2 million Medicaid fraud
By Emily Pofahl
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Debbie Long, a 44-year-old Milwaukee woman, is accused of defrauding Wisconsin Medicaid of nearly $2.2 million, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Investigators with the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit said Long submitted fraudulent claims to the state Department of Health Services, claiming reimbursement for in-home medical care she never provided.
“Widespread fraud against Wisconsin Medicaid,” is how Wisconsin Department of Justice investigators described the case in court documents.
Between March 2017 and August 2022, Long allegedly stole almost $2.2 million from Wisconsin Medicaid. Investigators also accuse her of taking out a fraudulent $219,000 low-interest pandemic-era loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the guise of her in-home care business, Pinnacle Home Health Care LLC.
Court documents state Long used the stolen money to buy Kitt’s Custard at 70th and Capitol in 2020 and “helped launder the money that was used” to purchase a Mercedes-Benz and Milwaukee’s Octopus Car Wash.
Long no longer owns Kitt’s Custard, which is now open under different ownership. She and her husband also no longer live at their Greenfield or Milwaukee addresses listed in court documents.
Long is charged in Milwaukee County Court with three counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering. Online jail logs show she is not in custody in Milwaukee County as of Tuesday night.
Efforts to reach Long were unsuccessful Tuesday. She is due in court in July.
The state attorney general’s office is prosecuting the case.
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