Louisiana Pharmacy Fined $275K for Controlled Substances Act Violations

A Port Allen, Louisiana pharmacy and its owner must pay $275,000 to resolve a federal civil lawsuit under the Controlled Substances Act, United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced.

U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson has accepted and entered a Stipulated Order and Consent Judgment against Port Allen-based Stevens Pharmacy, Inc. and its owner, Steven W. Gough. The consent judgment resolves the United States’ claims under the federal Controlled Substances Act in the civil action, United States of America v. Stevens Pharmacy, Inc. and Steven W. Gough, Case No. 22-414-BAJ-SDJ in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.

Stevens Pharmacy and Steven Gough are required to pay civil penalties to the U.S. for the alleged unlawful dispensing or distribution of controlled substances based on facially invalid prescriptions and for allegedly failing to maintain accurate inventories of certain controlled substances.

As specified in the Stipulated Order and Consent Judgment, the United States contends that, between January 1, 2018, and March 4, 2020, Stevens Pharmacy and Steven Gough filled 1,179 facially invalid prescriptions for controlled substances. The purported violations of the Controlled Substances Act identified by the Government include: (a) dispensing more opioids–including hydrocodone, oxycodone, and fentanyl–than prescribed; (b) filling expired prescriptions for controlled substances; (c) filling unsigned prescriptions for controlled substances; (d) filling prescriptions for controlled substances lacking required elements, such as patient addresses or prescribers’ DEA registration numbers; (e) filling prescriptions for controlled substances in which the prescribers were unidentified; and (f) filling prescriptions for controlled substances before the prescriber-specified start dates of those prescriptions.

The consent judgment also requires Steven Gough to provide written notice to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) if he engages in the practice of pharmacy within the United States and to consent to warrantless inspections and audits by the DEA for three years if he operates a pharmacy practice owned by him at any location within the United States. Mr. Gough previously surrendered the DEA Registration for Stevens Pharmacy following the March 4, 2020 execution by the DEA of an administrative inspection warrant at the pharmacy.

The Stipulated Order and Consent Judgment entered by the district court is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Stevens Pharmacy or Steven Gough, nor is it a concession by the United States that its claims are not well-founded.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and was litigated by Assistant United States Attorneys Chase E. Zachary and Davis Rhorer, Jr.