Walgreens, Illegally Filling Unlawful Opioid Prescriptions Florida 2023

Washington — In a landmark settlement, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walgreen Co., and various subsidiaries (collectively, Walgreens) have agreed to pay up to $350 million for allegedly filling millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and then seeking payment for many of those invalid prescriptions by Medicare and other federal health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA).

The government’s complaint, filed on January 16 and amended April 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that from approximately August 2012 through March 1, 2023, Walgreens, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains, knowingly filled millions of unlawful controlled substance prescriptions. These unlawful prescriptions included prescriptions for excessive quantities of opioids, opioid prescriptions filled significantly early, and prescriptions for the especially dangerous and abused combination of three drugs known as a “trinity.”

Walgreens pharmacists allegedly filled these prescriptions despite clear red flags indicating a high likelihood that the prescriptions were invalid because they lacked a legitimate medical purpose or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice. The complaint further alleges that Walgreens pressured its pharmacists to fill prescriptions quickly and without taking the time needed to confirm that each prescription was lawful.

Walgreens’s compliance officials also allegedly ignored substantial evidence that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions and even intentionally deprived its own pharmacists of crucial information, including by refusing to share internal data regarding prescribers with pharmacists and preventing pharmacists from warning one another about certain problematic prescribers.

“Pharmacies have a legal responsibility to prescribe controlled substances in a safe and professional manner, not dispense dangerous drugs just for profit,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice is committed to ending the opioid crisis and holding bad actors accountable for their failure to protect patients from addiction.”

The settlement amount is based on Walgreens’s ability to pay. Walgreens will owe the United States an additional $50 million if the company is sold, merged, or transferred prior to fiscal year 2032. The United States has moved to dismiss its complaint, and Walgreens will also move to dismiss a related declaratory judgment action filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

“This settlement resolves allegations that, for years, Walgreens failed to meet its obligations when dispensing dangerous opioids and other drugs,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston of the Civil Division. “We will continue to hold accountable those entities and individuals whose actions contributed to the opioid crisis, whether through illegal prescribing, marketing, dispensing or distributing activities.”

This is the largest Controlled Substances Act resolution in the history of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. “We are grateful for the energy and collaborative spirit brought to this effort by our colleagues in the DEA, the Civil Frauds Section and Consumer Protection Branch, and the United States Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern District of Illinois, District of Maryland, Eastern District of New York, and Eastern District of Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida.

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