Attorney General John M. Formella announces that the Merrimack County Superior Court has sentenced Joseph Bye, age 32, of Claremont, to the New Hampshire State Prison for his role in a Medicaid fraud scheme.
Between July 2020 and July 2022, Bye stole $21,771.38 from the New Hampshire Medicaid program by submitting fraudulent claims for mileage reimbursement as part of the Family and Friends Mileage Reimbursement Program. Bye claimed he was traveling to healthcare appointments in Concord from Danville, a distance of approximately 40 miles. However, during that period of time, Bye lived in Concord, less than one-and-one-half mile from the treatment facility, with Sara Lapointe, age 29, who similarly claimed that she was traveling to the same facility in Concord from Cornish, a distance of approximately 65 miles.
Bye pleaded guilty to charges of class B felony Medicaid Fraud – False Claims and class A felony Theft by Deception, and the Court sentenced him to serve 1½ to 3 years at the New Hampshire State Prison, stand committed, on the Medicaid Fraud – False Claims charge, followed by a consecutive 3 to 6 year State Prison sentence, fully suspended for 10 years, on the Theft by Deception charge. The Court further ordered Bye to pay restitution of $21,771.38 and he is prohibited from further participation in the Family and Friends Mileage Reimbursement Program.
Lapointe pleaded guilty on May 13, 2024 to class B felony Medicaid Fraud – False Claims and class A felony Theft by Deception, and the Merrimack County Superior Court sentenced her to serve 12 months, stand committed, at the Merrimack County House of Corrections on the Medicaid Fraud charge, followed by a consecutive 5 to 10 year State Prison sentence, fully suspended for 10 years, on the Theft by Deception charge. The Court ordered Lapointe to pay $19,835.23 in restitution to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, and she is likewise barred from future participation in the Family and Friends Mileage Reimbursement Program.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Connor Buchholz and Andrew Yourell of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Financial Investigator Timothy Brackett, also of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Investigator Eric Shirley, formerly of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, investigated the case.
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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