In late November 2024, sentencing finally came down for a pharmacist who had surrendered his license to practice in 2020 for illegally selling opioids out of his New Life Pharmacy in Madera, California.

At that time, Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu was found to have illegally dispensed more than 450,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills between 2014 and 2018. The scheme involved filling prescriptions he knew were fake and pocketing the cash that two traffickers paid him for the drugs.

Because of his crime, the California State Board of Pharmacy imposed disciplinary sanctions, which, in Ntukogu's case, involved voluntarily surrendering his pharmacy license, ending his right to practice.

According to the California Pharmacy Law, the state Board of Pharmacy may respond to violations of this nature with Category III or IV disciplinary sanctions. These can range from a stayed license suspension to probation to full license revocation. These more severe categories apply when an offense involves the pharmacist knowingly or willfully violating laws or regulations about dispensing dangerous drugs.

If you are a licensed pharmacist under investigation or facing sanctions from your state pharmacy board, the skilled Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can help you. We have defended licensed professionals, including licensed pharmacists and other medical professionals, across the country for years, and we are ready to work for you.

If misconduct allegations have been made against you, you need our team to represent you in negotiations with your state's pharmacy board. Call us today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to learn how we'll best position you for a successful future in pharmacy.

A Long Line of Potential Penalties

Inappropriately or negligently dispensing medication, particularly narcotics, is a breach of professional ethics, and potentially laws, that is becoming increasingly common in the field of pharmacy. Unsurprisingly, such missteps often result in investigations by state licensing boards as well as criminal proceedings, as seen here. Even before an investigation has begun, you could be facing a number of professional penalties. These may include:

• License suspension (this may include being banned from any pharmacy area or any distributor of drugs, as it does in California).
• Being issued a probationary license.
• Being supervised at work or being barred from dispensing certain medications.
• License revocation.
• Having to surrender your pharmacy license.
• Being issued a private or public reproval.

In California, pharmacists who have surrendered their licenses must wait three years to apply to practice again. Such waiting periods are common among state boards of pharmacy. If Ntukogu wishes to reapply, he'll also need to repay the courts for the cost of his investigation and enforcement. And he won't be permitted to reapply for a license until his prison sentence – just over seven years – has been satisfied. Even then, readmittance into the licensed pharmacy profession is not a given, with the gravity of his mistake.

A Prescription for Success

We all know that well-meaning, capable professionals sometimes make mistakes. Others make downright bad decisions. This is true in all fields of work. Whether accidental or intentional, a litany of professional reprimands may await a licensed pharmacist who has mistakenly or illegally dispensed dangerous drugs. Regardless of whether you looked the other way, made a regrettable oversight, or were meant to commit a crime, mistakes involving opioids are not minor-league offenses. This should be at the forefront of your mind as you consider how to respond to allegations against you.

Even when there has been a misunderstanding, and you are innocent, your state's medical board is obligated to investigate your case, and they don't always give license holders the benefit of the doubt. You need to clearly understand what your rights are before, during, and after an investigation in order to avoid mistakes that could be costly and irreversible down the road.

The good news is that help is available from the Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm. We have deep experience negotiating with state licensing boards and advocating for clients, and we are ready to represent you. Call us today so we can begin discussing your options, potential pleas, terms, and conditions to consider, and other crucial items that will come up through the course of your investigation.

Don't forfeit everything you've worked for by going it alone or hiring a less experienced attorney. Call our team now at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to get the discussion started.