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Coborn’s Pharmacy will pay $225,000 in civil penalties for allegedly violating the Controlled Substance Act resulting in years of opioid theft.
Coborn’s Pharmacy allegedly enabled an employee “to engage in a years-long pattern of diverting opioids for personal use,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Minnesota press release.
Coborn’s reported the misconduct to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration when it learned of the theft, according to the release, and the company has since made changes to its record keeping and compliance program.
According to the release, Coborn’s Pharmacy did not adequately monitor employee conduct and failed to keep accurate records. This allowed for a pharmacist in charge of one of the stores to “fabricate nine patient accounts and create numerous false prescriptions” between 2011 and 2015.
The release did not mention which store the incident took place at or the name of the employee.
As a result of the alleged actions, “hundreds of doses of controlled substances went unaccounted for and were diverted for illicit purposes, namely personal use by the pharmacist in charge,” according to the release.
The claims resolved by the settlement do not determine liability, according to the release.
Coborn’s, Inc. said in an emailed statement requested by the Times: “This settlement relates to a matter involving a former employee, whose employment with us was terminated for Obtaining Controlled Substances by Fraud during the 2011 to 2015 time period, a crime he pled guilty to. No other Coborn’s Pharmacy location was involved in this matter. We admitted no wrongdoing as part of this settlement and are pleased to have the matter closed.”