Walgreens Agrees To Pay $350M For Unlawful Prescriptions Like Opioids

DEERFIELD, IL — Following allegations it had illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances, Walgreens has agreed to pay a $300 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. That number could go up another $50 million if the Deerfield-based company is sold, merged, or transferred prior to fiscal year 2032.

Last month, parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance announced it was being sold to Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, for a reported deal up to $23.7 billion.

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According to the United States Attorney's Office (Northern District of Illinois), Walgreens violated the Controlled Substances Act and then sought payment for many of those invalid prescriptions in Medicare and other federal health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act. The settlement amount is based on Walgreens's ability to pay.

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

The government's complaint, filed on Jan. 16 and amended April 18 in U.S. District Court, alleges that from approximately August 2012 through March 2023, Walgreens, knowingly filled millions of unlawful controlled substance prescriptions. These unlawful prescriptions included prescriptions for excessive quantities of opioids, opioid prescriptions filled significantly early, and prescriptions for the especially dangerous and abused combination of three drugs known as a "trinity."

Walgreens pharmacists allegedly filled these prescriptions despite clear red flags indicating a high likelihood that the prescriptions were invalid because they lacked a legitimate medical purpose or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice.

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