A Milwaukee woman has been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly defrauding Wisconsin’s Medicaid program of nearly $2.2 million by billing for in-home care services that were not provided. Authorities allege she used the funds to purchase Kitt’s Custard, a luxury vehicle, and a car wash.
Debbie Long, 44, owner of Pinnacle Home Health Care LLC, was charged with three counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Investigators with the DOJ’s Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit allege that Long submitted false claims to the state Department of Health Services between March 2017 and August 2022 for personal care services, such as mobility assistance, meal preparation, and bathing, that were not provided, exaggerated, or impossible to deliver. Court documents describe the scheme as “widespread fraud against Wisconsin Medicaid.”
Prosecutors also allege that she fraudulently obtained a $219,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2020 by overstating her company’s employee count and payroll, saying she employed 120 people and had a monthly payroll of nearly $90,000.
Long allegedly used the fraudulent Medicaid proceeds and the PPP loan to purchase Kitt’s Custard, a north side Milwaukee restaurant at 70th and Capitol. She is also accused of laundering additional funds to acquire a Mercedes-Benz and Milwaukee’s Octopus Car Wash. Long no longer owns the restaurant, which continues to operate under new ownership.
Long is not in custody and is scheduled to appear in court in July. The Wisconsin Attorney General’s office is prosecuting the case. A conviction could bring decades in prison and millions in fines and restitution.
This latest Medicaid fraud case comes as Wisconsin taxpayers continue to shoulder the cost of entitlement programs targeted by scammers. It mirrors the massive Medicaid and social services scandals that have drained billions from states like California and neighboring Minnesota, where federal probes uncovered industrial-scale schemes involving ghost clients, false claims, and kickback networks. Lax oversight in these programs creates irresistible incentives for abuse, diverting safety-net dollars meant for the truly needy into personal windfalls for fraudsters, in this case, funding the fraudulent purchase of a beloved local restaurant.
