Four Indicted for Witness Tampering and Obstruction of Justice

January 29, 2010 - Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray today announced that an indictment was unsealed following the arrests of B. Elise Miller, aka Barbara E. Miller, age 55, Coshocton, Ohio; Dana C. Campbell, age 50, Coshocton, Ohio; Douglas A. Bolden, age 55, Zanesville, Ohio; and James O. Ireland, age 39, Zanesville, Ohio. The indictment charges Miller with two counts of witness tampering, two counts of obstruction of an official proceeding, and one count of concealment of records. Miller’s husband, Dana C. Campbell, is charged with one count of concealment of records. Bolden and Ireland are each charged with one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.

The indictment alleges that from about 1987 to November 2008, Miller owned and operated Three Rivers Infusion and Pharmacy Specialists (Three Rivers), a medical infusion and pharmacy supply company located in Coshocton, Ohio. Miller’s husband, Dana C. Campbell, was the Vice President of Finance for Three Rivers.

In 2008, Three Rivers was under investigation by federal and state agencies for suspected over billing of medical insurance companies for services and drugs, including a drug called Synagis used to treat infants to help prevent influenza. In August 2008, the government searched Three Rivers and seized various files including some files of patients who received Synagis.

In December 2008, the government served Three Rivers with a subpoena to produce 118 patient files, but Three Rivers provided the government with only 21 such files. In December 2009, government agents found many of the subpoenaed patient files concealed in Miller’s and Campbell’s home in Coshocton, Ohio.

The Indictment further charges that Bolden and Ireland, who both worked for Miller, accused Miller of using Bolden’s name as the pharmacist who was dispensing the drug Synagis. It is charged that Miller then provided “severance” payments to both Bolden and Ireland in return for their silence about Miller’s activities.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James C. Lynch and Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Constance A. Nearhood with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Columbus, Ohio, following investigations by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Ohio Department of Insurance, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Columbus, Ohio, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Columbus, Ohio.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.