Walgreens Dispensed Millions Of Unlawful Prescriptions: Lawsuit

DEERFIELD, IL — In a civil complaint filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Justice Department is alleging Walgreens violated the Controlled Substances Act by dispensing millions of unlawful prescriptions, including opioids. The lawsuit claims the Deerfield-based company then sought reimbursement for many of these prescriptions from various federal health care programs, which violates the False Claims Act.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, headquartered at 108 Wilmot Road, oversees approximately 8,600 Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in the U.S.

"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, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division, said.

Patch has reached out to Walgreens Boots Alliance regarding the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that from August 2012 to the present, Walgreens was knowingly filling millions of prescriptions for controlled substances that "lacked a legitimate purpose" or were not valid. Among the unlawful prescriptions were dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids, prescriptions for early refills of opioids and prescriptions for the especially dangerous and abused combination of drugs known as the "trinity," which is made up of an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxant.

Boynton said these prescription requests had "clear red flags" indicating they were highly likely to be unlawful.

"These practices allowed millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Walgreens stores," Boynton said.

In addition, the complaint alleges Walgreens systematically pressured its pharmacists to fill prescriptions quickly without taking the time needed to confirm each prescription's validity.

Four different whistleblowers, who worked at different Walgreens stores in the U.S., are part of the lawsuit against their former company. The full complaint can be found here.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month, Walgreens Boots Alliance has been discussing a sale of the company to Sycamore Partners, a deal that could be completed in early 2025. The newspaper is citing "people familiar with the matter" for its report.

RELATED: Walgreens Discussing Sale Of Company To Private-Equity Firm — Report