CHICAGO (WLS) — Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million for illegally filling unlawful opioid prescriptions and submitting false claims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said in a news release Monday.

“The Justice Department, together with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), today announced a $300 million settlement with Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walgreen Co., and various subsidiaries (collectively, Walgreens) to resolve allegations that the national chain pharmacy illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and then sought payment for many of those invalid prescriptions by Medicare and other federal health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA),” the release said.

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Walgreens will owe the United States an additional $50 million if the company is sold, merged or transferred prior to fiscal year 2032, the release said.

The government’s complaint alleges that from approximately August 2012 through March 1, 2023 Walgreens knowingly filled millions of unlawful controlled substance prescriptions.

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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.

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

Walgreens will implement and maintain certain compliance measures for the next seven years, the release said.

“Importantly, Walgreens’s agreements with the DEA and HHS-OIG provide swift relief in the form of monitoring and claims review that will improve Walgreens’s practices immediately,” U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois said in a statement. “Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that opioids are properly dispensed and that taxpayer funds are only spent on legitimate pharmacy claims.”

Walgreens released a statement Monday that said, “We strongly disagree with the government’s legal theory and admit no liability. Our pharmacists are dedicated healthcare professionals who care deeply about patient safety and continue to play a critical role in providing education and resources to help combat opioid misuse and abuse across our country.
This resolution allows us to close all opioid related litigation with federal, state, and local governments and provides us with favorable terms from a cashflow perspective while we focus on our turnaround strategy that will benefit our team members, patients, customers, and shareholders.”