Judgment assesses penalties for illegal sales of pseudoephedrine
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The U.S. District Court has entered a civil judgment for $4,474,000, in favor of the United States and against a former Berea pharmacy and its owner, assessing civil penalties against them for illegally selling 100-count bottles of pseudoephedrine and failing to comply with other laws governing pseudoephedrine sales.
The civil judgment is part of a settlement resolving a federal civil suit against RX Discount of Berea, P.L.L.C., which formerly operated a retail pharmacy in Berea, and its owner and manager, Lonnie W. Hubbard, age 41. According to the United States’ civil complaint, from 2009 through 2012, RX Discount, acting through Hubbard, knowingly or recklessly sold at retail over 1,000 100-count bottles of pseudoephedrine, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Further, RX Discount was not certified under the CSA to sell pseudoephedrine, from Jan. 1, 2011 through June 8, 2011, July 1, 2012 through July 18, 2012, and Aug. 1, 2013 through March 29, 2014.
As part of the civil settlement, RX Discount and Hubbard acknowledged that they engaged in this misconduct, and the civil judgment holds RX Discount and Hubbard liable under the CSA. The judgment also imposes civil monetary penalties against them: $4,000 for each sale of 100-count bottles of pseudoephedrine, and $10,000 for each period RX Discount failed to be properly certified to sell pseudoephedrine, for a total of $4,474,000.
In February 2017, in a related criminal case, Hubbard was convicted of 71 counts involving the illegal sales of oxycodone, hydrocodone, and pseudoephedrine and money laundering. Today Hubbard was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. Hubbard’s wife, Meggan, who also worked at RX Discount, is currently incarcerated, serving five months for her involvement in purchasing property using funds from the unlawful sales of prescription drugs and pseudoephedrine.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky announced the judgment.
The investigation of the civil case was conducted by the DEA, the Office of the Inspector General for the Cabinet of Health and Family Services, and the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Corndorf represented the United States.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
