Tinley Park Couple Pleads Guilty to $23,711 Medicaid Fraud Scheme (Tinley Park, IL) — A Tinley Park couple has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $23,000 in Illinois Medicaid funds through fraudulent claims for in-home services, according to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office.
Michael Niekamp, 65, and Tina Niekamp, 63, each pleaded guilty Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court to one count of theft. Both were sentenced to two years of second-chance probation and ordered to repay a combined $23,711.20 to the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Each defendant was ordered to pay $11,855.60 in restitution. According to Raoul’s office, both paid half of their respective restitution amounts in court Thursday.
The case involved Medicaid-funded in-home assistance provided through the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities.
Authorities said Tina Niekamp had been assigned to provide in-home support services to her disabled sister through the state program. Prosecutors alleged that between May 2023 and February 2024, she submitted claims for services during periods when her sister was admitted to an inpatient facility.
Michael Niekamp, according to the Attorney General’s Office, approved the timecards associated with the claims.
The alleged conduct resulted in the state paying Medicaid funds for services that prosecutors said were not provided during the periods in question.
“Illinois’ Medicaid program provides vital in-home support services to thousands of individuals with disabilities across the state, and I am pleased that we were able to recover stolen funds,” Raoul said. “My office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will continue to partner with state and federal agencies to hold individuals who cheat our systems accountable.”
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit opened its investigation following a referral from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Office of the Inspector General.
HFS Inspector General Brian Dunn said the case demonstrates the state’s efforts to protect Medicaid resources and ensure they are available to people who depend on the program.
“Today’s sentence, and the investigation and indictment that led to it, underscore Illinois’s unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of the Medicaid program,” Dunn said. “We are proud of our continued partnership with the Attorney General’s Office to safeguard Medicaid funds and ensure they serve the individuals who rely on these essential services.”
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates allegations of fraud involving Illinois Medicaid providers and investigates certain allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation involving Medicaid beneficiaries.
The unit is federally supported through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For the federal government’s 2027 fiscal year, the Attorney General’s Office said 75% of the unit’s funding, totaling $12,292,668, will come through a federal grant. The remaining 25%, totaling $4,097,556, will be funded by the state of Illinois.
Assistant Attorney General Dan Duffy prosecuted the case for Raoul’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The guilty pleas resolve the criminal case against the Niekamps. Their convictions and sentences were entered in Cook County Circuit Court, with both defendants receiving second-chance probation and restitution obligations as part of their sentences.
Tinley Park Couple Pleads Guilty to $23,711 Medicaid Fraud Scheme
