FedEx Says Pharmacy Charges Dismissed -- WSJ

By Josh Beckerman 

FedEx Corp. said the U.S. Justice Department has dismissed all remaining criminal charges against the company over shipments from online pharmacies.

In a 2014 indictment, the Justice Department accused FedEx of ignoring government warnings from as far back as 2004 that it was shipping drugs from internet pharmacies that weren't legally prescribed. Charges against the company included conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

FedEx argued it was legally protected as a company that carries goods for the public. The company said it shipped more than 10 million packages a day and can't police every one.

A majority of the charges against FedEx were dismissed in March, as the judge said the government named the wrong defendant, resulting in charges being filed past the statute of limitations. A trial on the remaining charges had begun Monday in San Francisco.

"FedEx is and has always been innocent," the company said Friday. "The government should take a very hard look at how they made the tremendously poor decision to file these charges."

The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In 2013, United Parcel Service Inc. agreed to pay $40 million to settle a probe concerning shipments on behalf of online pharmacies.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 20, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)

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