Former State Medicaid Worker Pleads Guilty To Fraud

A former state Medicaid audit administrator accused of bilking his father and Medicaid out of nearly $379,000 has pleaded guilty.

Court records say Lincoln resident Craig Barnett entered the pleas last week in U.S. District Court to two counts of wire fraud and two of mail fraud. The records say he was working at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services when the crimes occurred.

Prosecutors say Barnett’s father granted him power of attorney over his affairs, which Barnett used to take his father’s pension and other income items while spending only a portion of the total on his father’s expenses. Prosecutors say Barnett took more than $294,000 from his father and more than $84,000 from Medicaid that was supposed to go to his nursing home.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THIS STORY: LPD Officer Cited For Alcohol Violation.