Fake Heiress Ordered to Serve Five-Year Prison Term

Bari Lynn Berger, 68, of Durham, North Carolina, was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for scamming investors out of $1.7 million, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Berger pleaded guilty, December 6, 2010, to mail fraud and wire fraud, admitting that she falsely represented herself to investors as the heir to an estate worth billions of dollars. Between January 2008 and March 2009, Berger and her co-defendant, Gerald W. Radomski, told their victims that Berger needed money in order to become eligible to receive the inheritance and that those who contributed money would receive a substantial return—up to $1,000 for every $1 invested—once the disbursement of the estate took place. The pair defrauded at least 140 victims who believed their story and expected a return on their investment.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe ordered Berger to pay restitution in the amount of $1.7 million and ordered three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Kornylak.