Upton Care, LLC (dba Upton Care Pharmacy)
Outcome
The DOJ reached a consent decree with Upton Care Pharmacy and its pharmacist-owner on May 31, 2023, prohibiting certain high-risk prescription combinations and requiring documented red-flag assessment protocols, resolving allegations that from 2018 to 2022 the pharmacy filled fraudulent opioid and stimulant prescriptions for more than 300 patients traveling over 180 miles from their homes.
Details
Upton Care Pharmacy (Montgomery County) — CSA Opioid/Stimulant Consent Decree (2023)
Outcome: The DOJ announced a consent decree on May 31, 2023, prohibiting Upton Care Pharmacy and its pharmacist-owner from filling dangerous opioid-stimulant combinations and requiring documented red-flag review before filling high-risk prescriptions, resolving allegations of unlawful dispensing to hundreds of out-of-area patients from 2018 to 2022.
Upton Care, LLC operated as Upton Care Pharmacy in Montgomery County, Maryland under pharmacist-owner Roya Youssefi-Rashti. From approximately 2018 until the pharmacy closed in 2022, Youssefi-Rashti and Upton Care allegedly knowingly filled fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleged that the pharmacy dispensed controlled substances to more than 300 patients who traveled more than 180 miles from their homes — a strong indicator of drug-seeking behavior and diversion — without documenting any legitimate basis for dispensing.
A particularly dangerous pattern involved dispensing concurrent prescriptions for both opioids and stimulants to the same patient — a combination the consent decree identifies as contraindicated and potentially lethal. The pharmacy also filled high-dose opioid prescriptions exceeding 90 daily MME and accepted cash payments from patients who had insurance available. Despite the pharmacy's closure in 2022, the DOJ pursued the consent decree to establish documented obligations going forward in the event Youssefi-Rashti resumes pharmacy practice.
The consent decree prohibits filling simultaneous opioid and stimulant prescriptions and buprenorphine without naloxone absent reliable documentation. It requires the pharmacist to document indications of abuse or diversion and the steps taken to verify prescription legitimacy before filling any prescription bearing identified red flags.
Primary Source: Consent Decree — Upton Care Pharmacy, Montgomery County | DOJ
How Crucible Prevents This
The pattern of 300+ out-of-area patients traveling 180+ miles to fill controlled substance prescriptions is a category of red flag that a documented dispensing protocol — analogous to Crucible's pre-tool-check gate — would catch before the prescription is filled. Crucible enforces decision documentation at the point of action; this pharmacy lacked any systematic mechanism to record why it chose to fill prescriptions bearing major diversion indicators, allowing the pattern to persist across four years.
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