Justice Department Drops Charges Against FedEx in Drug Shipping Case
The Justice Department has dismissed charges that FedEx illegally transported prescription drugs.
The federal agency’s motion to dismiss was made before U.S. District Court Judge Corp. Charles Breyer ruled on allegations that FedEx knew about and was responsible for carrying packages containing drugs sold overseas for delivery to U.S. customers after a week-long trial. The company that ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers could have faced fines of as much as $1.6 billion.
Charges were filed against FedEx in July 2014 in the Northern District of California, which chose to fight the charges. Previously, UPS Inc. agreed to forfeit $40 million paid by illicit online pharmacies. Several U.S. drug store chains were fined a total of $150 million for knowingly filling prescriptions for illegal use.
“FedEx is and has always been innocent,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president of marketing and communications for FedEx. “The case should never have been brought. The government should take a very hard look at how they made the tremendously poor decision to file these charges. Many companies would not have had the courage or the resources to defend themselves against false charges. The power of the government was greatly misused when the case was initiated, but the government’s integrity was redeemed by the decision to dismiss the charges today.”
“FedEx remains committed to its long-standing cooperation with law enforcement authorities to prevent misuse of its transportation networks,” the company statement said.
