Attorney General John M. Formella announces that Felisha Cunnigham, age 29, has been convicted and sentenced on a class A felony charge of Theft by Deception and class B felony charge of Medicaid Fraud – False Claims.
On January 8, 2025, at the Merrimack County Superior Court, Ms. Cunningham pleaded guilty to working in concert with Tucker Bean to cause false Medicaid claims to be filed to steal $17,749.54 in Medicaid funds. Between April 2023 and January 2024, Ms. Cunningham participated in the creation and submission of false mileage reimbursement requests for non-emergency medical transportation trips for her and Mr. Bean as part of the Family and Friends Mileage Reimbursement Program. Ms. Cunningham represented that she was living in Plymouth and traveled from Plymouth to healthcare appointments in Franklin, a distance of more than 25 miles each way. She also represented that Mr. Bean was living in Conway and that she drove him to treatment at the same location in Franklin each day, a distance of approximately 60 miles each way. However, during that period, Mr. Bean and Ms. Cunningham lived together, primarily in the Franklin/Tilton region, including several months at an apartment approximately one-half mile from the treatment facility.
The Court sentenced Ms. Cunningham to serve 12 months at the Merrimack County House of Corrections on the Medicaid Fraud – False Claims charge. Six months of the sentence are suspended for seven years upon Cunningham’s release. On the Theft by Deception charge, the Court sentenced Ms. Cunningham to a term of 2 to 4 years at the New Hampshire State Prison, which is fully suspended for seven years upon her release on the Medicaid Fraud – False Claims sentence. The Theft by Deception sentence will run consecutively to the Medicaid Fraud – False Claims sentence, if imposed. Additional terms of the sentences included restitution of $17,749.54 to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and no further participation in the Family and Friends Mileage Reimbursement Program.
Financial Investigator Timothy Brackett and Investigator John Lannon of the New Hampshire Department of Justice’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated this matter with assistance from the Conway, Franklin, and Tilton Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant Attorney General Thomas Worboys and Assistant Attorney General Andrew Yourell, both of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The charges and allegations against Mr. Bean are merely accusations, and Mr. Bean is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Mr. Bean’s case is scheduled for trial in May 2024.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes fraud by healthcare providers who treat Medicaid beneficiaries. Healthcare providers include, but are not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, doctors, dentists, pharmacies, ambulance companies, and anyone else who is paid for providing healthcare services to Medicaid beneficiaries. If you would like to report a case of provider fraud, please contact the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at (603) 271-1246.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $1,032,556 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $344,185 for FY 2025, is funded by the State of New Hampshire.
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