Ann Arbor pharmacies agree to $500,000 settlement over illegal drug sales

The settlement calls for the payment of $400,000 to the government over the next three months. The government has agreed to suspend payment of the final $100,000 for meeting future compliance requirements by Wenk’s Pharmacy, an Ann Arbor pharmacy owned by Eileen Kundrat.

The government accused the pharmacies of dispensing hydrocodone through the mail to customers across the United States as part of an Internet-operated pharmacy scheme based in Orlando and Tampa, Fla.

The organization sold the drugs to customers through several Internet pharmacy businesses and websites, the government said. Customers on the website were not required to have a prescription before ordering the narcotics. Instead, customers completed an online questionnaire and paid for the drugs with a credit card. The organization had agreements with several physicians located throughout the United States to authorize the issuance of hydrocodone over the Internet, the government said.

The orders were forwarded directly to the Prescription Shop and the Prescription Shop II and shipped to the Internet customers in 45 states, the government said. Between October 2, 2006, and May 26, 2007, The Prescription Shop and The Prescription Shop II together filled more than 17,000 prescriptions of hydrocodone through these Internet sales, the government alleged.

The government settled the case through negotiations without filing a lawsuit. Along with this settlement, Wenk’s Pharmacy resolved an administrative complaint with the DEA.