Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York | Department of Justice
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Frank A. Tarentino, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), have announced a settlement in a civil lawsuit involving Janelle Harris, owner and supervising pharmacist of The Pharmacy @ LCC. The now-closed pharmacy previously operated in Manhattan.
The government accused Harris and her business of violating the Controlled Substances Act by repeatedly filling prescriptions that showed warning signs suggesting they were not legitimate. These “red flags” included cash payments for Schedule II controlled substances like Oxycodone, multiple prescriptions written by a single doctor, and sequential prescription numbers. The complaint alleged that Harris failed to investigate these issues before dispensing medication.
Under the settlement approved by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff on September 5, 2025, Harris agreed to pay $100,000 based on her ability to pay as determined from her financial disclosures. She also signed a Consent Judgment for $16.7 million that could be enforced if she fails to meet payment obligations under the agreement. In addition to monetary penalties, Harris is barred for five years from serving as a supervising pharmacist and for seven years from owning or operating any pharmacy handling controlled substances.
Harris admitted responsibility for certain conduct alleged by the government and acknowledged failing to ensure that all filled prescriptions were issued for legitimate medical purposes.
“Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals cannot turn a blind eye to opioid abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Pharmacists who recklessly ignore warning signs of diversion will be held accountable.”
“Pharmacists are not exempt from their regulatory responsibilities, especially when dealing with controlled substances and the dangerous effects they have when misused,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino. “This settlement reflects DEA’s commitment to making sure measures are in place to safeguard the community and hold DEA registrants accountable. I commend our Diversion Investigators for bringing this matter to a resolution.”
Between 2014 and 2018, Harris was responsible for overseeing operations at The Pharmacy @ LCC as both owner and head pharmacist. During this period, many prescriptions filled at her pharmacy were later determined not to have been issued for legitimate medical reasons.
Mr. Clayton praised the work of DEA investigators involved in resolving this case.
The Office’s Civil Frauds Unit managed the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob M. Bergman leading.
