Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.'s shares tumbled by more than 12% on Tuesday, after the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company and its subsidiaries, accusing it of dispensing millions of prescriptions, including those for "dangerous and excessive quantities" of opioids, that "lacked a legitimate medical purpose."
According to the lawsuit, if the company is found liable, it will have to pay civil penalties of up to $80,850 for every unlawful prescription that violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), as well as "treble damages and applicable penalties for each prescription paid by federal programs in violation of the [False Claims Act] FCA."
The company's stock plunged by 12.86% and sold for $10.91 at 12:28 pm ET.
