CVS will pay $70,000 to resolve allegations that it filled fake prescriptions

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CONCORD, NH CVS has agreed to pay $70,000 to resolve allegations that it violated controlled substance law at CVS stores in New Hampshire, US attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Pharmacies have a legal responsibility to ensure that controlled substances are dispensed only under valid prescriptions, said U.S. attorney Jane E. Young. When pharmacies ignore the red flags that a prescription is fraudulent, they miss a critical opportunity to prevent the misuse or diversion of prescription drugs for illegal purposes or into the black market. We will use the Controlled Substances Act and all other tools available to protect New Hampshire residents. I am grateful to the DEA diversion investigators for their investigative work in this case.

Pharmacies are responsible for the responsible handling of controlled substances and compliance with the Controlled Substances Act, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Boyle. No violation of this will be tolerated. We are committed to working with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to ensure that these rules and regulations are followed.

The United States Attorney’s Office argued that CVS pharmacists filled 41 bogus prescriptions for Adderall, Ritalin and Xanax. This affirmative civil application resulted from two separate criminal investigations into individuals who filled prescriptions at multiple CVS pharmacies in New Hampshire. Theodoros Bahtsevanos pleaded guilty in June 2019 to two counts of misusing a DEA registration number and one count of possessing at least five false identification documents, based on his presentation and obtaining numerous prescriptions under fictitious names. He was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante to 3 years probation on April 30, 2020. Jane Mastrogiovanni pleaded guilty to ten counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge in July 2020 based on his use of fake prescriptions to obtain controlled substances. She was sentenced to 3 years probation on February 5, 2021, following the transfer of the case to the United States District Court in New Jersey.

Under the Controlled Substances Act, a valid prescription for a controlled substance must be issued for legitimate medical purposes by an individual practitioner acting in the ordinary course of their practice. Based on its investigation, the government alleged that CVS pharmacists should have known they were being presented with invalid prescriptions that should not have been filled.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. The case was handled by Assistant US Attorney Raphael Katz.

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