Two Charlottesville pharmacies to pay combined $1.3 million for filling invalid prescriptions

Kroger and Harris Teeter pharmacies in Charlottesville have agreed to pay the United States a combined total of $1.3 million to settle civil claims that the stores violated the Controlled Substances Act.

The United States contends the two pharmacies violated the CSA at least 160 times between February 2018 and April 2021 by filling invalid prescriptions for opioids and benzodiazepines that were written by a physician clearly acting outside the scope of his medical practice, and pharmacists at both locations should have known this information and refused to fill those illegal prescriptions.

“We have seen a record number of Americans lose their lives in recent years as a result of opioid poisoning,” said United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh. “This epidemic remains ongoing, and we know that many individuals struggling with addiction are obtaining opioids and other addictive drugs from pharmacies who choose to look the other way.

“My office continues to work with the DEA and others to hold accountable any pharmacy or doctor who illegally prescribes these highly-addictive and dangerous drugs.”