Bedford Resident Charged with Making False Statement Related to Health Care Benefit Plan

An indictment was unsealed which charges filed against Belita Bush, age 54, of Bedford, Ohio, charging one count of making a false statement to federal agents and one count of making a false statement related to a health care benefit plan, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Bush had been employed by Alpine Nursing Care of North Randall, Ohio, from 2006 through 2009, as its office manager. When Bush was interviewed by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services on January 10, 2011, she falsely denied that she was involved in the billing at Alpine. Further, she filed a claim for services for Alpine on July 19, 2007, for which the patient file supporting the claim contained false and fraudulent documents, according to the indictment.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role 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, following an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, Cleveland, Ohio; Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland, 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.