CVS to pay $75M fine for meth-related sales

[News_Editor]

CVS to pay $75M fine for meth-related sales

2010-10-15 01:14:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

LOS ANGELES (BNO NEWS) -- CVS Pharmacy, Inc., the biggest operator of retail pharmacies in the United States, on Wednesday admitted that it unlawfully sold pseudoephedrine to criminals who made methamphetamine, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday.

The DOJ said CVS has agreed to pay $75 million in civil penalties and to forfeit the $2.6 million in profits the company earned as a result of drug sales.

The DOJ said in a statement that CVS Pharmacy allowed criminals to obtain a key ingredient used in the manufacture of methamphetamine from CVS stores located primarily in Los Angeles County; Orange County, California; and Clark County, Nevada, detween September 2007 and November 2008.

Feds said CVS eventually changed its sales practices to prevent these illegal sales, but it did so only after it became aware of the government’s investigation.

The $75 million portion of the settlement represents the largest civil penalty ever paid under the Controlled Substances Act.

In 2007, CVS implemented an automated electronic logbook system to record individual pseudoephedrine sales, but the system did not prevent multiple purchases by an individual customer on the same day. The government learned that violations occurred not only in California and Nevada, but likely also in 23 other states where CVS failed to implement appropriate safeguards.

As part of the agreement, the government has agreed not to pursue criminal charges against CVS, which has accepted responsibility for the illegal conduct.

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