Covetrus Sentenced for Criminal Misbranding of Prescription Drugs

ABINGDON, Va. – Covetrus North America LLC, a company based in Dublin, Ohio, which sells veterinary products to customers across the United States, was sentenced yesterday to one-year of probation for causing the introduction and delivery of misbranded veterinary prescription drugs into interstate commerce.

In addition, the court ordered Covetrus to pay over $23 million in criminal fines and forfeitures.

Covetrus will forfeit $21,534,091, pay $1,000,000 to the Virginia Department of Health Professions, as well as a fine of $1,000,000. In addition, Covetrus is obligated to keep in place appropriate compliance measures to prevent future violations.

According to court documents, from March 2019 to December 2021, Covetrus shipped over $20 million in prescription drugs from their non-pharmacy locations throughout the United States to end-users that were not authorized to receive prescription drugs. Shipments from non-pharmacy locations to non-authorized end-users or locations are deemed “misbranded.”

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge George Scavdis, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations - Metro Washington Field Office made the announcement.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigations and the Virginia State Police investigated the case, with the assistance of the Virginia Department of Health Professions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Ramseyer prosecuted the case.