Kroger Fined $7 Million for Controlled Substance Violations

Kroger, Co. and its subsidiaries King Soopers and City Market, have agreed to pay a record $7 million dollar settlement for violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by the company's pharmacies.

Agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), responding to information concerning possible illegal diversions of controlled substances, initiated an investigation, which included audits of seven King Soopers pharmacies.

According to this DEA press release, “ the audits revealed multiple discrepancies reflecting a pattern of non-compliance at King Soopers pharmacies with the requirements of the CSA and Federal regulation. Record-keeping and controlled substance security problems at King Soopers made it impossible to determine how many drugs had been lost or diverted.”

“As a result of DEA's investigation, Kroger is initiating a corporate-wide compliance program to improve their pharmaceutical controls,” said DEA Special Agent Jeffrey D. Sweetin in a press release. “Seven million dollars is a very large settlement. But, because diverted pharmaceuticals account for a large percentage of the drugs illegally abused, the cost of not imposing such settlements is much larger.”

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