Federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Louise W. Flanagan to shut down Wilmington, N.C.-based pharmacy Seashore Drugs, alleging its owner and head pharmacist disregarded telltale signs of patient misuse when dispensing opioids, according to a report from local NBC affiliate WECT.
Prosecutors filed a complaint Oct. 30 alleging pharmacist-in-charge Billy W. King II would fill suspicious prescriptions for highly addictive drugs that other Seashore Drugs pharmacists refused to fill, according to WECT. It also alleges that he and pharmacy owner John Waggett would willfully ignore red flags that violated the Controlled Substances Act, such as patients who requested suspicious drug combinations, visited multiple physicians for various prescriptions, paid with cash and sought an excessively high volume of pills.
The prosecutors also claim that Mr. King took no action after learning that customers were seen exchanging drugs outside Seashore Drugs after receiving their prescriptions, according to WECT.
Mr. Waggett and Mr. King agreed to pay a $1.05 million civil penalty, according to WECT. The filing would ban Mr. Waggett and Mr. King from "administering, dispensing, distributing, or possessing with intent to distribute, any kind of controlled substance," but the agreement is awaiting approval from Ms. Flanagan, WECT reported.