Walgreens Lawsuit 2020: Alleged Pharmacist Imposture Costs Retailer $7.5 Million

Walgreens (WBA) has reportedly settled a lawsuit for $7.5 million with California’s Alameda and Santa Clara counties that claims it employed an unlicensed pharmacist for more than a decade.

The lawsuit stems from a complaint filed by the district attorneys of Alameda and Santa Clara counties that alleges that one of its employees worked as a pharmacist for than 10 years, even though she was not licensed by the Board of Pharmacy, CNN reported.

According to the lawsuit, Kim Thien Le, the alleged employee, reportedly filled more than 745,000 prescriptions, including more than 100,000 prescriptions for controlled substances. The lawsuit claims that Walgreens failed to check Le’s credentials when she was promoted the licensed position, the news outlet reported.

Le no longer works for Walgreens, and according to the retailer, hasn’t since October 2017. She was reportedly criminally charged in the summer of 2019 for false personation and related felonies by the California’s Attorney General’s Office, where she pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. The case is still pending.

Walgreens has agreed to pay $7.5 million in penalties, costs, and remedial payments as well as implement a verification program that will provide a check of required licenses as well as annual audits, according to the news outlet.

“This case serves as a cautionary tale for every health care provider that hires people into positions requiring a professional license,” O’Malley said in a statement. “The burden is on the company to make sure its employees are properly licensed and to complete a thorough background check. My office will be vigilant in protecting consumers and enforcing licensing laws.”

Shares of Walgreens stock were up 2.22% as of 11:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday.