Pharmacy chain to pay government $525,000

JOHNSONVILLE — Fred’s Pharmacy has agreed to pay the U.S. government $525,000 in fines for allegations that it failed to comply with federal regulations controlling the storage and dispensing of controlled substances, U.S. Attorney William N. Nettles said.

At the Johnsonville Fred’s Pharmacy, the government alleged that Fred’s failed to keep controlled substances secure, failed to report thefts of controlled substances to the Drug Enforcement Administration, allowed an individual to accept call-in prescriptions for controlled substances without the appropriate state license, and filled fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances.

The government alleged Fred’s Pharmacy in Kingstree also failed to report losses of controlled substances to the DEA and failed to properly maintain records regarding the receipt of controlled substances. The recording requirements are vital so that auditors can to compare to the amount of controlled substances on hand to the inventory records and determine whether any are missing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Controlled substances are drugs that have a potential for abuse and may cause physical or psychological addiction. They include narcotics, amphetamines and hypnotics.

The applicable fines for the violations ranged from $10,000 to $25,000 per violation.

“Under the Controlled Substances Act, pharmacies play a critical role in prevention and detection of drug diversion,” Nettles said in a press release. “DEA investigators rely on their cooperation and compliance with the regulations to assist them in the prosecution of individuals improperly diverting controlled substances. Pharmacies must be held accountable when they fail to meet their obligations.”

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Aldrich and Fran Trapp with the assistance of DEA diversion investigators.

Fred’s Pharmacy has since closed and the investigation of others involved is ongoing.

In February, U.S. District Judge Terry L. Wooten sentenced a Johnsonville woman to two and a half years in prison for conspiring to distribute controlled substances while working at Fred’s Pharmacy in Hemingway

Evidence showed Rebecca Denise Lynch, 28, assisted Melanie Poston of Johnsonville with obtaining prescription drugs illegally. Poston, 38, worked as a medical assistant at a physician’s office in Hemingway, and in 2007 began writing and forging fraudulent prescriptions for powerful pain killers and other narcotics.

Poston recruited others to have the prescriptions filled — including her daughter, 20-year-old Jaime Brooke Poston, 37-year-old Lisa Marie Marlow, 19-year-old Heather Nicole Owens and 48-year-old John Henry Jackson, all of Johnsonville — at area pharmacies, including at Fred’s Pharmacy through Lynch, who knew the prescriptions were forged.

About 8,000 doses of drugs, which included Endocet, Percocet, Lortab, Vicodin, Xanax and Valium, were illegally obtained by the group over the two-year conspiracy.

Wooten sentenced Melanie Poston to 125 months — more than 10 years — in prison and Jaime Poston to five months in prison. He also sentenced Owens and Marlow each to 51 months in prison, while he sentenced Jackson to three years probation.

The maximum penalty they could have received is a $1 million fine and/or 20 years in prison, depending upon the count of conviction.

All six defendants were charged in May 2009 in a nine-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of controlled substances (Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Phendimetrazine, Alprazolam, Diazepam, and Phentermine); possession with intent to distribute controlled substances (prescription drugs); and persuading and inducing a person under the age of 18 to unlawfully possess a controlled substance (prescription drugs) with intent to distribute.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hemingway and Johnsonville police departments and the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, and assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Day II of the Florence office for prosecution.