CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – United States Attorney Moore Capito announced Wednesday that MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. (MWI) has agreed to pay $100,000 to resolve allegations that it failed to identify large oxycodone HCL orders from a Putnam County veterinarian as suspicious or report them to federal authorities, resulting in abuse and probable diversion of the drugs.
MWI, also known as MWI Animal Health, is a Boise, Idaho-based global distributor of veterinary supplies and pharmaceuticals. As a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registrant authorized to distribute controlled substances, the company is required under the Controlled Substances Act to maintain a system for identifying suspicious orders and notify the DEA when such orders are discovered.
According to federal investigators, MWI’s internal Diversion Control Program required suspicious orders to be reviewed by its Diversion Control Team and documented before being cleared. The company’s policy identified oxycodone HCL as a substance “especially susceptible to diversion” requiring additional scrutiny and warned that its Suspicious Order Monitoring System “will fail if individuals clear orders without adequate investigation.”
The investigation found that between March 8, 2018, and July 10, 2023, MWI filled orders for Putnam County veterinarian Dr. Clara Ann Mason totaling 14,200 dosage units of 10-milligram hydrocodone/acetaminophen, 800 dosage units of 10-milligram oxycodone HCL, and 600 dosage units of 5-milligram oxycodone HCL.
Federal authorities determined the orders were unusual for a veterinary practice and amounted to more than 16 times the national average for medical practitioners. Investigators also found that Mason ordered substantially more hydrocodone/acetaminophen from MWI than any other individual customer during 2021, 2022, and 2023. She also accounted for all oxycodone HCL dosage units filled by MWI for West Virginia veterinarians in 2022 and 2023.
Investigators said MWI’s Suspicious Order Monitoring System flagged Mason’s Sept. 13, 2022, order for 300 dosage units of 10-milligram oxycodone HCL. An MWI representative reportedly reviewed and released the order the following day without substantial investigation. The company then filled nine additional oxycodone HCL orders for Mason, including one for approximately 1,300 pills, without questioning the orders or conducting further due diligence
“The authority to distribute controlled substance requires complete adherence to the law and mandated internal policies to protect our communities against the consequences of diversion and abuse,” Capito said.
“This settlement agreement is the result of outstanding work by the Drug Enforcement Administration, our office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement and Health Care Fraud Investigative Specialist Tyler E. Japhet, and Assistant United States Attorney Gregory P. Neil.”
DEA Louisville Division Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott also commented on the settlement
“DEA registrants like MWI are obligated to uphold the stringent reporting requirements outlined in the Controlled Substances Act; a failure to do so can result in the diversion of medications that have a high potential for abuse, and endanger our communities,” Scott said. “Hopefully, today’s settlement will serve as a costly reminder that compels MWI to take the threat of drug diversion seriously.”
Capito’s office previously secured a $956,709 default judgment against Mason on July 31, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers ordered Mason to pay the maximum civil penalties after concluding that she ordered thousands of doses of opioids and other drugs, failed to properly secure and track the drugs, and apparently fabricated records to conceal those failures.
