The Justice Department has filed a civil complaint against Walgreens which operates more than 8,000 pharmacies throughout the United States alleging that they dispensed millions of illegal prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
The pharmacy “allowed millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Walgreens stores,” the Justice Department said.
The pharmacy chain since August 2012 filled prescriptions that lacked a legitimate medical purpose, were invalid or weren't issued in professional practice, the Justice Department said.
The Department of Justice sued pharmacy giant Walgreens for allegedly dispensing millions of unlawful prescriptions. Walgreens from August 2012 until the present "knowingly" filled those prescriptions, which "lacked a legitimate medical purpose, were not valid, and/or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice," the DOJ said.
The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it has filed a lawsuit alleging that pharmacy chain operator Walgreens knowingly filled millions of prescriptions that lacked a legitimate medical purpose.
To say that pharmacy retailer Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 3.19%) has been struggling would be a massive understatement. It's coming off a horrendous year in 2024, when its share price crashed by 64%.
Wentworth said Walgreens saw a 52% increase in "shrink" -- or loss of inventory that cannot be accounted for through sales or other legitimate means.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA, ETR:W8A) CEO Tim Wentworth has revealed the pharmacy and retail chain's anti-shoplifting measures have backfired, negatively impacting sales. During the company's recent earnings call, he likened the challenge of addressing theft to “hand-to-hand combat.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 2.86%) fell sharply last year as a combination of declining vaccine demand, headwinds on consumer discretionary spending, and misguided acquisitions led to a series of dismal earnings reports from the company.
Walgreens stock surged 27% on Friday, Jan 10, after the company reported upbeat Q1 (fiscal ends in August) results. It reported revenue of $39.5 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.51 per share, compared to the consensus estimates of $37.3 billion, and $0.38, respectively.
After a dreadful 2024 that saw its stock lose more than 60% of its value, 2025 has started off as a better year for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 27.55%), with the stock skyrocketing after the pharmacy operator announced better-than-expected fiscal Q1 2025 results for the period ended November 2024.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 27.55%) rocketed 27.5% higher on Friday, Jan. 10, 2024. This isn't nearly enough to recover from a 64% drop the stock notched last year, but it's a big step in the right direction.