Food City to pay over $8M to settle opioid dispensing claims

ABINGDON, Virginia (WDEF) —  Food City has reached a settlement with the federal government related to their dispensing of opioids.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the grocer will pay over $8 million over charges from the DOJ that they violated the False Claims Act.

In the settlement, prosecutors allege that Food City knowingly gave customers opioids without a valid prescription in at least 24 different locations.

Prosecutors say this action is necessary to help combat the opioid epidemic.

“Pharmacies that fill prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances have an obligation to ensure that those prescriptions are medically necessary.  The department is committed to holding accountable pharmacies that have abdicated this responsibility and thereby contributed to the nation’s opioids crisis.”

-Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.