Southern Colorado Pharmacy Agrees to Pay $250,000 to Resolve Allegations That It Unlawfully Dispensed Controlled Substances for Years

DENVER—The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced that COBigRed, Inc., which operates Hometown Pharmacy & Medical in Trinidad, Colorado, has agreed to resolve allegations that the pharmacy violated the Controlled Substances Act by unlawfully dispensing controlled substances, including high daily doses of opioids and dangerous drug combinations.

The United States alleges that Hometown Pharmacy violated the Controlled Substances Act on numerous occasions, between January 2017 and December 2023, by filling prescriptions for controlled substances, including opioids, that were not valid because they were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose, or were issued outside the usual course of professional practice. The United States alleges that Hometown Pharmacy failed to identify or resolve numerous red flags related to these prescriptions that signaled that they were invalid.  These red flags included prescriptions that were for high daily doses of opioids; for dangerous drug combinations; for patients who had insurance but paid in cash for their prescriptions; for patients who had traveled long distances for their prescriptions; and for patients who repeatedly sought early prescription refills. The United States further alleges that Hometown Pharmacy failed to conduct proper due diligence to identify these red flags, including by failing to appropriately check the State of Colorado’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database, and by failing to properly document its due diligence on each prescription. The United States alleges that this conduct violated the Controlled Substances Act, and that these violations resulted in serious public harms, including the unlawful diversion of drugs. 

To resolve the allegations, Hometown Pharmacy agreed to pay $250,000 in civil penalties and entered into a separate agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that imposes strict terms intended to ensure that the pharmacy fully complies with its Controlled Substances Act obligations going forward.

“Pharmacies have an obligation to ensure that every prescription they fill is for a legitimate medical purpose,” said Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell. “When pharmacies fail to conduct proper due diligence and fill dangerous prescriptions despite the presence of red flags, they place people at unacceptable risk. We will continue to hold pharmacies accountable when they disregard these important obligations and fill illegitimate prescriptions.”

“Citizens of Colorado and beyond trust and rely on pharmacists to exercise their corresponding responsibility to dispense controlled substance prescriptions in accordance with federal regulations and law,” said DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan C. Pullen. “Hometown Pharmacy violated this trust and DEA relentlessly pursued justice and accountability against the pharmacy.  DEA will spare no expense to stop pharmacies from abusing their position of trust which could potentially harm patients.”

The claims against Hometown Pharmacy are allegations, and in agreeing to settle this matter, it did not admit to any liability.

This matter was investigated by the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division and handled by Affirmative Civil Enforcement counsel.