April 21 (UPI) — Walgreens has agreed to pay as much as $350 million in a settlement over illegally filled prescriptions for addictive opioid drugs and false reimbursement claims to the federal government, the Justice Department announced Monday.

The initial $300 million settlement resolves allegations that Walgreens violated the Controlled Substances Act and then sought payment for unlawful prescriptions from Medicare and other federal healthcare programs in violation of the False Claims Act. If Walgreens is sold or merged before 2032, it will owe the United States an additional $50 million.

“Pharmacies have a legal responsibility to prescribe controlled substances in a safe and professional manner, not dispense dangerous drugs just for profit,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “This Department of Justice is committed to ending the opioid crisis and holding bad actors accountable for their failure to protect patients from addiction.”

In addition to the settlement, Walgreens has agreed with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to address how it will dispense controlled substances going forward. The agreement requires Walgreens to maintain compliance measures for the next seven years, which includes validation of prescriptions, improved training and better staffing.

The government filed the complaint on Jan. 16, naming Illinois-based Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walgreen Co. and several of its subsidiaries. It claimed Walgreens pharmacies pressured individual pharmacists to ignore warnings and fill prescriptions quickly, starting in 2012, without checking into a patient’s or prescribing doctor’s background.

“This settlement resolves allegations that, for years, Walgreens failed to meet its obligations when dispensing dangerous opioids and other drugs,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Cranston of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

“Pharmacies that neglect their legal duties and their critical role in delivering safe and appropriate medications to enrollees of federal health care programs, and instead exploit these programs for market advantage, squander taxpayer dollars and put patient safety at risk,” added Acting Inspector General Juliet Hodgkins of HHS-OIG.

With Friday’s settlement, the U.S. government moved to dismiss its complaint against Walgreens.

“Pharmacies have an obligation to ensure that every prescription for highly addictive controlled substances is legitimate and issued responsibly in compliance with the Controlled Substances Act,” said DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz.

“When one of the nation’s largest pharmacies fails at this obligation,” Maltz added, “they jeopardize the health and safety of their customers and place the American public in danger.”