WASHINGTON (WILX) - A former Michigan pharmacist and his brother are going to prison for a scheme the U.S. Department of Justice says cost various healthcare programs more than $15 million.

The DOJ on Friday announced 59-year-old Raad Kouza — a pharmacist from Wayne County — and his 46-year-old brother Ramis Kouza, a pharmacy manager from Oakland County, were sentenced this week to eight years and five years, respectively.

Last fall a federal jury in the Eastern district of Michigan convicted the brothers of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. They were sentenced on Thursday.

The DOJ says from about 2010 to 2019, the brothers billed Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for prescription medications that they did not dispense at pharmacies they owne

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