Between 2015 and 2017, two pharmacy technicians at a retail pharmacy in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood conspired to steal more than 56,000 hydrocodone pills and sell them outside the pharmacy. One technician concealed the theft by falsifying inventory records so the pills appeared either never to have been received or to have been properly dispensed. Both technicians pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and were sentenced in 2019, one to five years in prison and the other to one year.
A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration inspection and audit found that the pharmacy had not kept proper records of the receipt and distribution of controlled substances, including hydrocodone-acetaminophen and alprazolam. The DEA also determined the pharmacy had failed to implement effective controls and procedures to guard against theft and diversion, which federal authorities alleged allowed the diversion to continue for an extended period.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois resolved the alleged Controlled Substances Act violations through a civil settlement under which the pharmacy will pay a $250,000 penalty to the United States. The pharmacy had also fulfilled the obligations of a memorandum of agreement with the DEA requiring complete and accurate recordkeeping for controlled substance transactions. The settlement is not an admission of liability by the pharmacy and is not a concession by the government regarding its claims.
In announcing the settlement, the U.S. Attorney emphasized that pharmacies must comply with security protocols and maintain proper oversight to prevent diversion of controlled substances, and said the office would continue working with law enforcement partners to enforce the Controlled Substances Act.