Walgreen Investors Sue CEO Over $80 Million Drug Fine
Walgreen Co. (WAG) Chairman James A. Skinner and Chief Executive Officer Gregory D. Wasson were sued by investors accusing them of failing to protect the company from an $80 million federal fine for lax oversight of prescription painkiller distribution.
The shareholders’ complaint in federal court in Chicago also names 11 board members as defendants and was filed on behalf of the company, the biggest U.S. pharmacy chain.
The penalty was paid last month to end a U.S. probe into the company’s drug distribution practices in New York, Florida, Michigan and Colorado, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement. The fine was the biggest in DEA history.
“Walgreens admitted, among other things, that it had not upheld its obligations as a DEA registrant, which requires the company to report suspicious orders of prescription painkillers like oxycodone,” according to today’s complaint.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-01/walgreen-investors-sue-ceo-over-80-million-drug-fine.html?cmpid=yhoo
Well, this could be interesting....