Walgreens ordered to pay $309K for violating Mo. court order

A Jackson county judge ordered Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) to pay $309,000 in additional fines for violating the terms of a 2014 settlement with the state of Missouri.

The ruling found Walgreens violated the 2014 judgment 309 times by leaving sales tags on shelves after the discount period had expired, which put customers at risk for overcharges, according to a news release from Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster’s office.

In June 2014, Koster visited Springfield to announce the settlement reached with Walgreens. It was brought about by alleged deceptive advertising and pricing schemes discovered a year earlier. The agreement required Walgreens pay for an independent auditor for the next three years and put in place penalties if Walgreens committed the price-tag errors again.

In September, Koster filed a motion seeking to hold Walgreens in contempt for continuing the practice.

Jackson County Judge Jennifer Phillips on Friday ordered Walgreens to pay $1,000 for each violation.

“Walgreens repeatedly cheated customers by representing that items were on sale when in fact the sale was over,” Koster said in the release. “The court gave Walgreens an opportunity to fix the problem, and it failed to do so. At last, Walgreens will pay a price for its deceptive conduct.”

Already, Walgreens has paid Missouri $165,000 for overcharging items. The misconduct was discovered via audit.