A Dearborn woman was charged Friday with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with her participation in a multi-year scheme to obtain more than $65 million from a number of out-of-pocket drug assistance programs. The US announced that he was found guilty by a jury. Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Joining Ison in the announcement was James A. Tarasca, a special agent for the Detroit Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Susan Bello, 23, was found guilty after a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmonds. count.
According to court documents and evidence presented at the trial, Bello was involved in a conspiracy to submit fraudulent reimbursement claims to numerous pharmaceutical companies’ co-payment assistance programs. These manufacturer-sponsored “coupon” programs exist to help real patients, who often face the high costs associated with name-brand prescription drugs. Evidence showed that Berro was a multiple pharmacy biller, nearly a year after he joined the scheme. In that role, she took addresses from real estate listings, created names and dates of birth, selected expensive name brands, and finally combined them with the names and credentials of real doctors to create a fake ” created fake “prescriptions” for “patients”. It shows that you put a lot of effort into making the supposed patient look real. However, according to eyewitness accounts, the majority of the pharmacy existed only on paper, never open to the public, and never even ordered inventory. , filed fraudulent claims totaling over $65 million on behalf of over 40 pharmacies.
“This was a complex scheme that exploited dozens of established programs to help people who could not legally afford drugs,” said federal prosecutor Ison. Our office will continue to investigate and unravel these schemes and vigorously pursue those responsible.
“The jury’s verdict confirms an alarming and unacceptable propensity for individuals to exploit parts of the health care system designed to help those who legitimately need prescribing assistance.” said James A. Taraska, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office. “The FBI is working with federal partners to identify fraudsters like this defendant and hold them accountable for their crimes.”
The case was led by the FBI with support from the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General’s Office (HHS-OIG). The case is being prosecuted by US Assistant Attorneys Ryan A. Particka and John K. Neal.