Suzan Berro, Pharmaceutical Coupon Fraud, Michigan 2023

A Dearborn woman has been convicted of participating in a multi-year scheme to obtain more than $65 million from numerous pharmaceutical co-pay assistance programs.

Suzan Berro, 23, was convicted on Friday by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

The scheme involved Berro submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims to pharmaceutical manufacturers’ co-pay assistance programs. These programs are designed to assist real patients with the often-high costs associated with name-brand prescription drugs.

A six-day trial, conducted before United States District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds, resulted in Berro’s conviction. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 1, 2023, where she faces a maximum of twenty years in prison on each count.

The evidence presented at trial showed that Berro, who participated in the scheme for nearly a year, was a biller for multiple pharmacies. She created fake ‘prescriptions’ for fake ‘patients’ by taking addresses from real estate lists, making up names and birth dates, selecting expensive name-brand prescription drugs, and then pairing them with real doctors’ names and credentials.

The evidence also showed that the conspiracy went to great lengths to make the supposed patients appear real. However, witness testimony revealed that the majority of pharmacies only existed on paper and never opened to the public.

‘This was a complicated scheme that abused dozens of programs established to help those who are legitimately unable to afford their medications,’ said U.S. Attorney Ison. ‘Our office will continue to investigate and unravel these schemes, and will we vigorously pursue those who are responsible.’

The case was led by the FBI with the assistance of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan A. Particka and John K. Neal.

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