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.
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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