Child care provider pleads guilty to fraud

SIREN, Wis. (AP) — A Burnett County day care provider has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Wisconsin Shares program.

Kelly Martin has been placed on probation for three years and has been ordered to pay $14,000 in restitution, in addition to the $10,000 she has already paid.

Martin owned day care centers in Siren and Danbury. Prosecutors say she received reimbursements from the state program for caring for children of low-income families.

WQOW-TV reports state investigators say Martin paid off area mothers to allow her to claim their children, even though they didn’t attend her day care centers in Danbury and Siren.