CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – Walgreens is accused of fraud in a lengthy lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Several insurance groups including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Florida and Massachusetts were included as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Walgreen Co. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. filed March 18.
“For more than a decade, Walgreens – the largest retail drugstore chain in the United States – has knowingly and intentionally engaged in a fraudulent scheme to overcharge plaintiffs for prescription drugs by submitting claims for payment at artificially inflated prices,” the lawsuit claimed.
The plaintiffs allege that Walgreens falsified facts concerning its usual and customary price points for prescription drugs issued to people who are insured by the plaintiffs. Walgreens is accused of inflating prices for millions of claims, overcharging plaintiffs to net a huge payday.
The plaintiffs are suing for fraud, fraudulent nondisclosure, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and other related claims.
Plaintiffs are represented by Crowell & Moring of Washington, D.C. and David Applegate and Matthew Blumenreich of Williams Montgomery & John Ltd., of Chicago.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois case number 1:20-cv-01853.