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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Newark man was indicted yesterday
for allegedly tampering with a witness in
connection with his pending prosecution
on charges of insurance fraud.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Louis Campbell, 63, of Newark, was
indicted on a charge of third-degree tampering
with a witness or informant. The Essex County
grand jury indictment alleges that between
July 1 and July 31, 2006, Campbell attempted
to cause a witness, Sharon Blanding, to
give false testimony or withhold testimony,
information or cooperation from the state
in connection with the state’s prosecution
of Campbell.
On
Nov. 15, 2005, the Office of Insurance Fraud
Prosecutor obtained an indictment charging
two Essex County lawyers, their law firm,
and 28 other individuals, including Campbell,
with racketeering and conspiracy in connection
with an ongoing insurance fraud investigation
targeting the illegal use of runners. Runners
are individuals paid by lawyers or medical
practitioners to solicit persons injured
in accidents to become clients and submit
insurance claims. The 2005 indictment alleges,
among other things, that Campbell and three
other defendants, including Sharon Blanding,
submitted claims for health care services
to State Farm Insurance Company for purported
injuries sustained in a hit-and-run accident
when, in fact, no such accident had occurred.
Irwin
Seligsohn, one of the lawyers indicted in
2005, was sentenced on Feb. 1, 2008, to
three years in state prison and ordered
to pay a $50,000 civil insurance fraud fine.
Cases against other alleged runners and
phony claimants have been resolved by guilty
pleas or remain pending.
Detective Ned Shaw, Civil Investigator Dana
Basile, Analyst Kathy Ratliff, and Deputy
Attorney General Andrew C. Fried were assigned
to the investigation. Fried presented the
case to the grand jury.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in state prison and
a fine of up to $15,000.
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