Wisconsin State Senate candidate Mike Roberts touts business success; public records show tax dispute, delinquencies

Mike Roberts, a candidate for Wisconsin State Senate, touts himself as a successful businessman but public records shed a different light. 

The race for the state Senate’s 5th district is expected to be highly contested. Roberts is seeking the Republican nomination and has no primary opponent on the ballot, while State Rep. Robyn Vining is seeking the Democratic nomination and also has no opponent. Incumbent Rob Hutton decided not to seek reelection. 

The Waukesha Freeman described Roberts in January as “the founder and owner of Wisconsin Orthopedic Physical Therapy, a Milwaukee-area practice that has earned multiple recognitions as the region’s best physical therapy clinic. (Roberts) said his experience as a health-care provider and employer has given him insight into rising costs, workforce shortages, and government inefficiency.”

“Whether it’s the cost of groceries, housing, healthcare, or taxes, people want leaders who listen, understand their challenges, and focus on real solutions,” Roberts told the outlet. “That’s the approach I bring as a business owner and healthcare professional — and it’s the approach I’ll bring to the legislature.”

But Roberts didn’t mention that his company has been sued by the state for unpaid unemployment insurance taxes, the company has been marked delinquent by the state three times, he admitted to losing $35,000 a year due to poor bookkeeping practices and he has repeatedly taken his own patients to small claims court. 

According to online court records, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development sued Roberts’ company for failing to pay unemployment insurance taxes. 

A spokeswoman for the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate confirmed that Roberts fully resolved the issue. “There was an issue with a payment … that was resolved,” said Leah Peterson. “It was more of an issue with bureaucratic red tape and timing than an actual problem.”

According to online state records, Roberts’ company was marked as delinquent by the state three times since 2016, including most recently this year, for failing to file a required annual report and/or pay the associated filing fee on time. 

In each case, records showed Roberts resolved the delinquency and was restored to good standing. 

According to a 2024 LinkedIn post, Roberts recommended a financial analyst for service after the analyst found a bookkeeping error at Roberts’ company. “Rob uncovered a billing error that cost our company over $35,000 annually after just two hours of analysis,” Roberts wrote. 

A spokeswoman for Roberts didn’t respond to questions about that post. 

Also, between 2017 and 2019, Roberts took at least five patients to small claims court. In two of those cases, Roberts sought to have the wages of his patients directed to his business, according to online court records. 

According to his website, “in 2013, Mike and Lauren opened a 200-square-foot physical therapy clinic in Wauwatosa. They built Wisconsin Orthopedic Physical Therapy from the ground up — expanding their Wauwatosa location as well as a second clinic in Lake Country — with a simple mission: provide high-quality, one-on-one care and take a proactive approach to long-term health and wellness.”

“We all agree — healthcare is too expensive. The solutions we need are things I know because as healthcare CEO, provider and patient myself, I’ve seen what we need to do,” Roberts said in an Apr. 6 post on X. 

“I saw the healthcare system was broken – so my wife an I decided to start our own business. What started with a 200-square-foot clinic in Wauwatosa, grew into a practice that has been named Best Physical Therapy Clinic in the Milwaukee area 6 times in the last 10 years,” Roberts in a post on X on Feb. 25. 

Will Karcz, a spokesman for the WI State Senate Democratic Committee, was critical of Roberts’ business background. 

“Mike Roberts has staked his campaign on being a small business owner – a business that’s been sued by the state, lost tens of thousands of dollars due to his incompetence,” Karcz said. “The last thing we need is a self-serving, shady politician who is more focused on turning a profit than delivering for Wisconsin. 

“Roberts is claiming to have a plan to fix healthcare costs while in the same breath justifying suing patients who struggle to pay the bills. He’s gotten rich manipulating a broken system and taking advantage of Wisconsinites, Mike can’t be trusted to fix a system that he uses to line his pockets” 

The Republicans took aim at Vining in their statement. 

“Blatant attempts by Robyn Vining’s liberal allies to defame Mike Roberts, a husband, father, healthcare provider and small business owner are unequivocally false. The efforts by Vining’s team are a testament to how far Democrats are willing to go to mislead voters,” Peterson said. 

“Mike has made it his mission to provide quality, affordable care to people in his community who need it most. He is like business owners across the 5th senate district who utilize a line of credit to expand his business so he could provide healthcare for families and individuals who need it. Vining’s flawed understanding of how our economy works is exactly why she is unfit to serve in the State Senate.

“Like many business owners, Mike was the victim of government bureaucracy, and any attempts to distort reality is just an example of politics as usual. As a senator, Mike will work to reduce red tape so Wisconsin businesses can grow and thrive.

“Mike treats his family, employees and neighbors with the utmost respect. Vining’s claims against Mike are proof that she isn’t confident in her own ability to earn the support of voters in the 5th senate district.”

Vining declined comment on this story, however State Sen. Dianne Hesselbein provided a statement.

“Let’s be clear what Healthcare CEO MAGA Mike Roberts is guilty of: not paying his taxes and getting sued by the state as a result, taking his patients to small claims court over unpaid medical debt and losing tens of thousands of dollars because he is a bad businessman,” she said. “Whatever word salad justification MAGA Mike and Republicans use to excuse that type of behavior is on them, but I know Wisconsin voters are smart enough to see through it.”

The Wisconsin primary election is Aug. 11 and the general election is Nov. 3.