Current:Home > MyFeds sue AmerisourceBergen over 'hundreds of thousands' of alleged opioid violations-LoTradeCoin
Feds sue AmerisourceBergen over 'hundreds of thousands' of alleged opioid violations
View Date:2024-12-24 00:14:21
The U.S. Justice Department is suing one of the nation's largest corporations, drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen, for allegedly fueling the nation's deadly opioid crisis.
In its complaint, DOJ officials said the company failed to report the diversion of "hundreds of thousands" of prescription opioid medications shipped to pharmacies.
The addiction crisis has killed more than a million people in the U.S., with fatal overdoses claiming 107,000 lives last year alone.
According to the DOJ, AmerisourceBergen and two of its subsidiaries could face penalties running into the billions of dollars.
"Companies distributing opioids are required to report suspicious orders to federal law enforcement," said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, in a statement.
"AmerisourceBergen which sold billions of units of prescription opioids over the past decade repeatedly failed to comply with that requirement," she added.
According to the complaint, AmerisourceBergen executives knew prescription pills shipped to Florida and West Virginia were being diverted and "sold in parking lots for cash."
The DOJ also alleges two people in Colorado who improperly received opioid pills shipped by the company "subsequently died of overdoses."
In a statement, AmerisourceBergen denied any wrongdoing.
The company accused the Justice Department of "cherry picking" alleged problems that existed at a handful of pharmacies out the tens of thousands of pharmacies served by the company.
"AmerisourceBergen verified DEA registration and state board of pharmacy licenses before filling any orders, conducted extensive due diligence into these customers, reported every sale of every controlled substances to the DEA," the company said.
In February 2022, AmerisourceBergen reached a national settlement with state and local governments, agreeing to pay $6.1 billion to resolve a tsunami of opioid-related lawsuits.
Federal officials say this civil lawsuit against the company is unrelated to that deal.
This action by the DOJ comes at a moment when drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy chains have faced a national reckoning over their role marketing and selling highly addictive pain pills.
The DOJ is also currently suing Walmart for alleged opioid violations at its pharmacy chain. Walmart, too, has denied any wrongdoing.
In all, corporations have agreed to pay more than $50 billion in settlements and penalties, money that's expected to fund drug addiction treatment programs across the U.S.
veryGood! (34)
Related
- Elton John Details Strict Diet in His 70s
- 'Kia Boys' flee police in Washington before crashing, chopper footage shows
- The women’s NCAA Tournament is having a big moment that has also been marred by missteps
- Who is Don Hankey, the billionaire whose insurance firm provided Trump a $175 million bond payment?
- Garth Brooks wants to move his sexual assault case to federal court. How that could help the singer.
- Cal-Maine Foods, largest producer of eggs in US, finds bird flu in chickens at Texas plant
- Black coaches were ‘low-hanging fruit’ in FBI college hoops case that wrecked careers, then fizzled
- What electric vehicle shoppers want isn't what's for sale, and it's hurting sales: poll.
- College football top five gets overhaul as Georgia, Miami both tumble in US LBM Coaches Poll
- Bird Flu Is Picking its Way Across the Animal Kingdom—and Climate Change Could Be Making it Worse
Ranking
- Larry Hobbs, who guided AP’s coverage of Florida news for decades, has died at 83
- Hard landing kills skydiver at Florida airport for the second time in less than 2 years
- Video shows suspect trying to outrun police on horseback before being caught
- Stock market today: Asian shares drop after Wall Street sinks on rate worries
- Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
- Kim Mulkey to Caitlin Clark after Iowa topped LSU: 'I sure am glad you're leaving'
- Nick Cannon and Abby De La Rosa's Son Zillion, 2, Diagnosed with Autism
- AP Was There: A 1974 tornado in Xenia, Ohio, kills 32 and levels half the city
Recommendation
-
Kendall Jenner Is Back to Being a Brunette After Ditching Blonde Hair
-
Alabama Sen. Katie Britt cites friendship with Democrats in calling for more respectful discourse
-
Machine Gun Kelly Shares Look at Painstaking Process Behind Blackout Tattoo
-
Yes, we’re divided. But new AP-NORC poll shows Americans still agree on most core American values
-
Bankruptcy judge questioned Shilo Sanders' no-show at previous trial
-
Iowa-LSU clash in Elite Eight becomes most-watched women's basketball game ever
-
What do a top-secret CIA mission and the Maryland bridge wreck have in common? Well, the same crane
-
Shannen Doherty is getting rid of her possessions amid breast cancer journey