CVS (CVS-0.88%) According to the Justice Department, its subsidies illegally delivered “large quantities” of opioids and other controlled substances for more than a decade.

The DOJ on Wednesday a civil lawsuit unsealed against the country’s largest pharmacy chain operator, alleging that the pharmaceutical company had been issuing invalid prescriptions since October 2013, violating the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint also alleges that CVS sought reimbursement for the prescriptions from federal health programs, violating the False Claims Act.

Some of those prescriptions contained “extremely high doses and excessive amounts of potent opioids” as well as “dangerous combinations” of opioids and other types of drugs, the complaint says. These include “Trinity” prescriptions, a combination of opioids, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxant.

The DOJ also alleges that CVS filled “at least thousands” of prescriptions written by prescribers it knew to “Pill mill“Practices, i.e. a doctor’s office that prescribes opioids without a compelling medical reason. According to the complaint, CVS ignored evidence from multiple sources, including internal data and its own pharmacists.

In one such case, the practices of Texas doctor Howard Diamond, who was among the top prescribers of hydrocodone and oxycodone in 2016, according to the complaint, “raised numerous red flags.” Although CVS was made aware of his inappropriate behavior as early as December 2014 and his name was raised more than a dozen times at a corporate agency, the board only recommended that pharmacists stop filling Diamond’s prescriptions in July 2017.

However, a CVS medical director later directed the company to continue filling those prescriptions. Only weeks after a federal grand jury indicted him on various federal crimes did CVS stop instructing pharmacists to fill Diamond’s prescriptions, the lawsuit says.

“Simply put: They put profits ahead of their obligation to keep their customers safe,” Anne Milgram, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said in a statement. “A pharmacy is the final step in the drug distribution process that ensures customer safety.”

CVS denied the allegations.

“We have cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation for more than four years and strongly disagree with the allegations and misrepresentation in this complaint,” the company said in a statement. “We will vigorously defend ourselves against this misguided federal lawsuit, which follows years of litigation by state and local governments on these issues – claims that have already largely been raised.” resolved through a global agreement with the attorneys general of the participating states.”

The unsealed lawsuit comes days after consulting firm McKinsey & Co. agreed to pay $650 million to resolve a federal investigation into his role in boosting sales of the opioid OxyContin for Purdue Pharma. In 2020, Purdue pleaded guilty to widespread misconduct in its handling of prescription painkillers. Purdue is currently working on it court-ordered mediation according to the Supreme Court dropped a $6 billion settlement in July.