DENVER — McKesson Corporation, one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical distributors, has agreed to pay a record $150 million civil penalty for systematically failing to report suspicious orders of oxycodone and hydrocodone, directly feeding the opioid epidemic. The settlement, announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and DEA Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Barbra Roach, marks the largest penalty ever levied under the Controlled Substances Act against a drug distributor.
“When drug distributors like McKesson fail to alert the DEA of suspicious orders of prescription drugs by pharmacies, the end result can be fatal,” said Troyer. “This settlement requires McKesson to comply with the law and holds the company accountable for its past conduct. Avoiding that legal obligation increases the narcotics street trade.” The company’s failure allowed massive quantities of highly addictive pills to flow unchecked into communities across the U.S. from 2008 to 2013.
The DEA’s investigation uncovered that McKesson’s Aurora, Colorado distribution center routinely bypassed its own compliance protocols. Despite being required to set purchase thresholds and report any overages as suspicious, the company repeatedly raised limits—sometimes at a pharmacy’s request, other times preemptively—to avoid triggering mandatory DEA notifications. In some cases, thresholds were set so high they were never reached, effectively nullifying oversight.
From June 2008 to May 2013, McKesson processed over 1.6 million orders for controlled substances in Colorado alone, but reported only 16 as suspicious—all tied to a single terminated customer. This near-total failure to report stands in stark contrast to the company’s legal duty to flag irregular orders in frequency, size, or pattern. The government asserts that McKesson prioritized profit over public safety, allowing high-volume opioid sales to continue unchallenged.
As part of the agreement, McKesson must suspend sales of controlled substances from distribution centers in Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, and Florida for multiple years—among the harshest sanctions ever imposed on a DEA-registered distributor. The staged shutdowns will force a complete overhaul of the company’s distribution practices under federal supervision.
The settlement echoes a 2008 case where McKesson paid $13.25 million for similar violations. Despite promising reforms, the company failed to implement them fully. Now, it faces new, stringent compliance mandates designed to prevent future lapses. “This agreement demonstrates that DEA will continue to hold all those accountable—corporations and individuals—who would disregard the public’s safety for their own profit,” said Special Agent Roach.
RELATED: McKesson Pays $150M for Opioid Order Cover-Up
Related Federal Cases
- McKesson Pays $150M for Opioid Order Cover-Up · Colorado
- McKesson Pays $150M for Ignoring Suspicious Opioid Orders · Washington
- McKesson Pays $150M for Failing to Report Suspicious Drug Orders · Washington
- McKesson Hit with $150M Penalty in Opioid Crisis · Colorado
- Amgen Pays $71M for Pushing Drugs Off-Label · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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