Ten people have been indicted in a more than $46 million alleged drug fraud scheme, Matthew Schneider, U.S. attorney for Michigan's Eastern District, announced Wednesday.

Residents of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights were charged with wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, accused of allegedly running pharmacies that in some cases never opened in order to defraud pharmaceutical companies, according to a news release.

In the group's scheme, they allegedly submitted reimbursement claims for co-pay programs for drugs that they hadn't actually bought or given to patients, according to Schneider. They also allegedly submitted claims for patients who didn't exist, the release said.

They allegedly obtained more than $46 million in fraudulent reimbursement claims between 2014 and this November, according to the release. And when a fake pharmacy came under suspicion by someone processing a claim, the group allegedly closed pharmacies and opened new ones at the same address.

The charged individuals are:

Hussein Abdallah, 36, of Dearborn Heights

Mohamad Abou-Khodr, 30, of Dearborn

Daniel Haidar, 30, of Dearborn Heights

Nabil Chehadeh, 39, of Dearborn

Ali El-Moussawi, 29, of Dearborn

Bassem Farhat, 46, of Dearborn

Hussein Wazne, 50, of Dearborn

Bahia Zeidan, 28, of Dearborn

Linda Fawaz, 25, of Dearborn Heights

Suzan Berro, 20, of Dearborn

"The indictment alleges that the defendants brazenly took advantage of programs created by drug manufacturers to help defray the cost of expensive prescription drugs, all in a scheme to steal millions of dollars," Schneider said in the release. "At a time when so many Michiganders are struggling to afford their medications, this alleged scheme is especially reprehensible. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute prescription drug fraud, so we can ensure these assistance programs remain available to help the people of Michigan."

The Detroit FBI and Department of Health and Human Services investigated with help from the Detroit Crime Commission.

Eight of the alleged conspirators were in court in Detroit yesterday for their initial appearance on the indictment, according to Eastern District spokeswoman Gina Balaya. Five are set to return at 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon for detention hearings.

Dozens of pharmacies were involved in the case, according to the U.S. attorney's office: