What Is The University Of Michigan Hiding? Time To Tell The Public What It Knew About Alleged Abuse Of Cassandra Fameux

Black Star News Editorial

Photos: Wikimedia Commons\Family Photo

Above Photo: University of Michigan President Domenico Grasso: Public owed answers about how it handled alleged medical abuse of Ms. Fameux by Dr. St. Claire and Dr. Barberio 

For nearly three years, Black Star News has investigated one of the most disturbing stories ever to emerge from the University of Michigan’s medical system.

Dr. St. Claire: The university gave him severance and executed an NDA with him. Later, even though the police recommended that he be criminally charged, prosecutor refused. 

At the center of the case are allegations by Haitian-born Cassandra Fameux 46, that her former husband, Dr. Paul Gregory St. Claire, 74, a longtime University of Michigan anesthesiologist, and psychiatrist Dr. Dominic Barberio subjected her to years of medical abuse by administering powerful antipsychotic drugs from 2014 through 2023 despite her insistence and that of several psychiatrists that she did not suffer from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

These are serious allegations. They deserve serious answers. Instead, the University of Michigan has chosen secrecy. After it terminated Dr. St. Claire on Feb. 28, 2024 the two parties executed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). 

There are many disturbing evidence. Ms. Fameux’s medical records state that Dr. Barberio was the one who injected her every month with one antipsychotic drug, Invega Sustenna, from 2017 to 2021. It turns out it was Dr. St. Claire who personally injected his wife at the hospital 90% of the time according to Dr. Barberio; nurses administered the shots the rest of the time. 

In September 2024, Ms. Fameux filed a criminal complaint with the Meridian Township Police naming Dr. St. Claire and Dr. Barberio. Following a six-month investigation, Meridian Township Police recommended on April 10, 2025, that Dr. St. Claire be charged with domestic assault.

Although the Ingham County Prosecutor declined to file charges, the police recommendation remains a matter of public record. 

Black Star News was the only media organization to obtain and publish that police report

According to Ms. Fameux, Dr. Barberio falsely diagnosed her with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, thereby providing the justification for years of alleged “poisoning” with antipsychotic medication. She provided investigators with a secretly recorded conversation in which Dr. Barberio acknowledged that she was not schizophrenic. Police records further state that two independent psychiatrists—Dr. Rita Aouad and Dr. Sharon Hobbs—also concluded that Ms. Fameux did not have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Dr. Aouad later testified during divorce proceedings that Ms. Fameux suffers from severe PTSD resulting from what she described as an abusive marriage.

Ms. Fameux further alleged that while under the influence of the antipsychotic drugs, Dr. St. Claire induced her to sign a Judgment of Separate Maintenance (JOSM) on Feb. 20, 2018, transferring 100% of marital assets, millions of dollars and two homes, to himself. The agreement also designated Dr. Barberio as the psychiatrist who would determine her mental fitness to co-parent the couple’s then three minor children.

She also told police the side effects of the Invega Sustenna injections included a pituitary brain tumor, a heart condition requiring a loop monitor, infertility following surgery to stop excessive menstrual bleeding, and diabetes. “Cassandra advised that the continuous Invega injections is the reason the tumor and diabetes developed,” Meridian Township police officer Nathan Wicks wrote in the police report. “Cassandra had medical paperwork proving her claims.”

Ms. Fameux told police that the Invega Sustenna was retrieved from a storage cabinet in Dr. Barberio’s office and that no prescriptions were written. 

Although the monthly injections lasted four years Dr. Barberio was able to print out notes for only one prescription—for Nov. 6, 2020—for Det. Ian Mandernack who led the police investigation. Dr. St. Claire refused to be interviewed. 

Three years earlier, in 2015, the Ingham County Probate Court granted Dr. St. Claire’s petition to have Ms. Fameux declared legally incapacitated. She maintains that the incapacitation resulted from the alleged drugging. Under Michigan law, because she had been declared incapacitated, the court was required to appoint a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) before she could sign an agreement such as the JOSM.

It never did.

That means the JOSM was void from the moment it was signed. Later, Dr. St. Claire, his divorce lawyer Jessica Larson, and Judge Carol N. Koenig who presided over the divorce, apparently fabricated a Guardian Ad Litem so that the void JOSM could be upheld. 

Six months after Black Star News reportedly on the apparent GAL fabrication Ms. Larson parted ways with her law firm, Mallory Lapka Scott & Selin. Soon thereafter, the entire firm itself apparently shutdown. 

So, what did the University of Michigan know about the alleged medical abuse of Ms. Fameux by Dr. St. Claire and Dr. Barberio at the hospital?

When did it know it? What actions did it take? Did it notify law enforcement? Did it report any concerns to the Michigan Department of Health or other regulators?

The public deserves answers.

On October 15, 2025, Black Star News filed a Freedom of Information request seeking records that could answer many of these questions. The University demanded a filing fee, which this newspaper promptly paid.

Nearly one year later, the records still have not been produced. Instead, the University has repeatedly promised production dates only to postpone them again when each deadline arrives. What should have been a straightforward public-records request has become an endless cycle of delay.

Why? What is the University trying so hard to keep from public view?

The questions became even more urgent after Dr. St. Claire testified during divorce proceedings that he was forced to resign by the University on February 28, 2024, after his wife reported that he had accessed and altered her medical records at University of Michigan Health Sparrow. If true, altering a patient’s medical records could have criminal implications.

Yet rather than publicly explaining the circumstances surrounding the termination, the University entered into the NDA. 

Why? Contrast that response with the University’s highly public and uncompromising handling of other high-profile employees. When football coach Sherrone Moore was terminated, the University of Michigan president himself Domenico Grasso issued a statement under the headline “Moving Forward with Integrity” and stating that there was “absolutely no tolerance” for the kind of conduct coach Moore—who reportedly had an affair with a subordinate—engaged in. 

There was “zero tolerance” for Coach Moore—apparently not for Dr. St. Claire. 

“This breach of trust by Coach Moore is painful for many in our community, first and foremost, the individuals directly involved in this situation. Yet our swift and decisive action reflects the University’s staunch commitment to a campus culture of respect, integrity and accountability,” the statement added.

So where is that same commitment to transparency in the case of Dr. St. Claire and the alleged abuse he and Dr. Barberio committed on Ms. Fameux? 

This is not the first time questions have been raised about how Dr. St. Claire was treated by hospital leadership. Long before his termination, Black Star News reported that the university had substantiated several instances of sexual harassment allegations against Dr. St. Claire over several years. He was repeatedly disciplined, counseled, suspended briefly, required to attend ethics and boundaries training, and repeatedly warned that future misconduct could jeopardize his employment. Yet he remained on staff.

Eventually, after his termination, the University executed a confidentiality agreement with him.

Why? The University’s continued refusal to answer these questions only fuels public suspicion. Transparency is not optional for a public institution funded by taxpayers.

The University of Michigan owes answers to its students, faculty, alumni, donors, patients, new potential hires, and the people of Michigan. Most importantly, it owes answers to Cassandra Fameux.

Until the University releases the records and answers these questions, one question will continue to overshadow everything else: What is the University of Michigan hiding?