The most lasting love happens when two people are aligned with their core values and work together to build a shared vision for the future. Joseph Bye and Sara Lapointe are those people, but with a twist – aligned with their core values and working together to commit fraud. This relationship might last forever… after fulfilling their sentencing obligations in prison. Medicaid’s Family and Friends Mileage Reimbursement Program helps eligible individuals get to their medical appointments by reimbursing them, or a friend or family member, for the mileage driven to a medical appointment. But Bye and Lapointe were guilty of stealing over $40,000 in fraudulent claims for mileage reimbursement that never occurred.
Between July of 2020 and July of 20222, Bye claimed he was traveling to healthcare appointments in Concord, NH, from Danville, NH, a distance of approximately 40 miles. Lapointe claimed she was traveling to health care appointments at the same facility in Concord from Cornish, NH, a distance of approximately 65 miles. But during that period, Bye and Lapointe were actually living together in Concord, less than 1.5 miles away from the facility. The Department of Health and Human Services determined that the miles didn’t add up.
On March 14, 2025, Bye was sentenced to 1½ to 3 years in state prison for Medicaid fraud. Bye was also ordered to pay restitution of $21,771.38 and is prohibited from participating in the Family and Friends Mileage Reimbursement Program. Lapointe was previously sentenced to 12 months in jail plus five years to 10 years in state prison, fully suspended. She was also ordered to pay $19,835.24 in restitution and also barred from participating in the Family and Friends Mileage Reimbursement Program.
Great job by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Claremont man gets prison time for Medicaid fraud” published by the Vallley News on March 14, 2025.
A 32-year-old Claremont man will serve time in prison after pleading guilty for his role in a Medicaid fraud scheme in which he submitted false reimbursement claims for travel to his drug rehab program.
Joseph Bye was sentenced to one and a half to three year in state prison to be followed by a consecutive three to six year sentence, fully suspended for 10 years, on convictions related to the fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney for the State of New Hampshire announced on Thursday. In addition, the court ordered Bye to pay restitution of $21,771 and banned him from future participation in the mileage reimbursement program.
