Nearly $1M Settlement Agreement Reached Between IE Pharmacy, State

PALM SPRINGS, CA — A Southern California pharmacy with locations across the Inland Empire will pay nearly $1 million to settle allegations by the state that it defrauded the Medi-Cal program, the office of Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday.

Bonta accused the owners of Palm Springs-based LASR Enterprises, Inc., which does business as White Cross Pharmacy, of unlawfully seeking and receiving reimbursement from Medi-Cal for drugs the pharmacy over-dispensed or dispensed without a valid prescription.

The California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse investigated the case and negotiated the $925,000 settlement agreement, which is more than five times the amount lost by Medi-Cal, according to Bonta's office.

Investigators found that between January 2015 and December 2017, LASR and its owners sought and received a total of $155,709 in reimbursement from Medi-Cal for drugs dispensed without a valid prescription, and a total of $22,177 in reimbursement for drugs that were over-dispensed per an authorized prescription, according to the attorney general.

A request for comment from LASR Enterprises was not immediately returned. The company operates a White Cross Pharmacy at 1717 E. Vista Chino in Palm Springs, as well as White Cross Pharmacy locations in Brawley and Riverside. LASR also operates Dons Drugs in San Bernardino and Cole's Village Pharmacy in Corona, according to its website.

“The Medi-Cal system supports our communities by providing access to free or affordable healthcare services for millions of Californians,” Bonta said Wednesday in a released statement. “When providers wrongfully claim reimbursement from Medi-Cal, they are misappropriating vital resources meant to protect the health of vulnerable families. Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to protecting the integrity of Medi-Cal and holding accountable those who try to defraud it.”

Of the total settlement, California will receive $555,000 and the United States will receive $370,000, as Medi-Cal is funded jointly by state and federal governments.

In 2022, the pharmacy was disciplined by the Board of Pharmacy, Department of Consumer Affairs, for not ensuring that its pharmacists renewed their licenses as required under state law.