The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, accusing Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walgreen Co., and subsidiaries of illegally dispensing millions of opioid and other controlled substance prescriptions.
The suit, announced on Jan. 17, alleges the pharmacy chain violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by knowingly filling prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose and also violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by seeking reimbursement from federal health care programs for those prescriptions.
“This lawsuit seeks to hold Walgreens accountable for the many years that it failed to meet its obligations when dispensing dangerous opioids and other drugs,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton said in a press release. “Our complaint alleges that Walgreens pharmacists filled millions of controlled substance prescriptions with clear red flags that indicated the prescriptions were highly likely to be unlawful, and that Walgreens systematically pressured its pharmacists to fill prescriptions, including controlled substance prescriptions, without taking the time needed to confirm their validity. These practices allowed millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Walgreens stores.”…