Alberta pharmacists plead guilty to taking secret commissions

Two pharmacists in southern Alberta pleaded guilty to taking secret commissions valued at more than $300,000.

Evan King and Kathryn Kaiser were each given an 18-month conditional sentence when they appeared in provincial court in Medicine Hat on Monday. The sentence includes house arrest for the first six months followed by a curfew.

King and Kaiser, co-managers at a Co-op pharmacy in Medicine Hat, faced charges of fraud and theft over $5,000.

An agreed statements of facts says the pair accepted incentives from multiple pharmaceutical companies — as is common in the industry for pharmacies that do business with a company.

Under Co-op policy, incentives are the property of the store, but between 2010 and 2015, the two accepted gift cards and paid travel without telling their employer.

King ’s defence lawyer presented a cheque for $100,000 to the Co-op on Monday. The judge also ordered King to pay another almost $44,000 in restitution.

Court heard Kaiser benefited in the amount of almost $178,000. She was ordered to pay back $200 a month for the first 15 months of her sentence. Fisher issued her a restitution order for the rest.

The Alberta College of Pharmacists disciplined both pharmacists through temporary suspensions and financial penalties.