United States obtains $3.1 million in judgments against Darien Pharmacy and its pharmacist

SAVANNAH, GA: A pharmacy and pharmacist owe $3.1 million in civil judgments to resolve claims that they violated the Controlled Substances Act.

The settlement, a result of the first-ever Controlled Substances Act lawsuit filed by the United States against a pharmacy in the history of the Southern District of Georgia, is among substantive results in the ongoing efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia to fight the prescription opioid crisis.

Darien Pharmacy, located in Darien, Ga., and its former pharmacist-in-charge, Janice Ann Colter, have agreed to judgments totaling $3.1 million to resolve a civil lawsuit alleging they filled thousands of prescriptions that they knew or should have known were not issued for legitimate medical reasons, including prescriptions for extremely high quantities of opioids, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

“Our office is serious about combatting the opioid crisis, and will fight for penalties to underline that message when medical professionals and businesses fail to follow the law,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “Pharmacies have a critical role in preventing drug abuse and diversion.”

The suit alleges that many of the excessive prescriptions filled by Colter and Darien Pharmacy were written by Dr. Frank Bynes, Jr., who was recently convicted in U.S. District Court on multiple counts of Unlawful Dispensation of Controlled Substances and Health Care Fraud. During a two-year period, Darien Pharmacy dispensed more units of controlled substances prescribed by Dr. Bynes than by any other doctor, according to the suit, despite a distance of nearly 100 miles between Dr. Bynes’ practice and the pharmacy, and the existence of numerous other red flags indicating the prescriptions were illegitimate. Inventory audits also showed the pharmacy was unable to account for all the controlled substances coming into the pharmacy, according to the suit.

“The sharp increase in the distribution and consumption of opiates for non-medical reasons continues to be a major concern to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “Consequently, DEA Diversion Investigators will continue to pursue pharmacists and other medical practitioners who engage in unlawful and egregious prescribing practices. This hefty civil fine in the Southern District of Georgia shows that DEA, the entire law enforcement community and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to making sure medical practitioners are abiding by proper prescribing guidelines.”

In addition to the Darien Pharmacy settlement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office also recently reached civil settlements with two other pharmacists and pharmacies in the Southern District for alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act:

• Liberty Square Pharmacy and its former pharmacist-in-charge, Wilton Clinton “Clint” Meeks, III, of Waynesboro, Ga., agreed to pay $150,000 to settle claims related to their inability to account for tens of thousands of pills including Oxycodone and Soma; and,
• Ludowici Drugs and its pharmacist-in-charge, John S. Townsend, of Ludowici, Ga., agreed to pay $55,000 to settle claims that they failed to keep required records to account for several categories of controlled substances, and unlawfully dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid oral and written prescriptions on numerous occasions.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia is committed to using all available remedies under the Controlled Substances Act against doctors, pharmacists, and others who break the law. The claims asserted against defendants in a civil suit are allegations only and are not determinations of liability.

These civil cases were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The United States was represented in these cases by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradford C. Patrick and Jonathan A. Porter.