Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walgreen Co., and various subsidiaries (collectively, Walgreens) will pay a $300 million settlement to resolve allegations that from 2012 to 2023, the national chain pharmacy illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act and then sought payment for many of those invalid prescriptions by Medicare and other federal healthcare programs in violation of the False Claims Act. Walgreens will owe the United States an additional $50 million if the company is sold, merged, or transferred before fiscal year 2032. Further allegations are that Walgreens pressured its pharmacists to fill prescriptions quickly without taking the time to confirm that each prescription was lawful. Walgreens’s compliance officials also allegedly ignored substantial evidence that its stores were dispensing unlawful prescriptions. The VA OIG, Drug Enforcement Agency, Health and Human Services OIG, Defense Health Agency, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Labor OIG, FBI, and US Attorney’s Offices in 13 regions investigated this case.
