The big distributor was charged with failing to report suspicious sales of hydrocodone, which is a violation under the Controlled Substances Act, despite repeated warnings, according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency. The med was later distributed to pharmacies that filled illegitimate prescriptions from rogue Internet pharmacies.

Drugmakers and distributors are required to monitor and report suspicious orders of controlled substances. But the DEA says Cardinal allowed the diversion of millions of dosage units of hydrocodone, which is the generic name of a prescription painkiller that is classified under federal narcotics law as a Schedule III controlled substance.

Cardinal’s “negligent conduct contributed to our nation’s serious pharmaceutical abuse problem,” Michele Leonhard, DEA’s acting administrator, says in a statement.

In a statement, the distributor denied any wrongdoing and says the settlement will result in reinstated licenses to distribute controlled substances from distribution centers in Auburn, Washington, Lakeland, Florida, and Swedesboro, New Jersey.

And Cardinal makes a point of noting that, last March, it hired former Acting Deputy US Attorney General Craig Morford to an expanded role as its chief compliance officer, reporting directly to Cardinal ceo R. Kerry Clark and to the board’s audit committee (back story).

“Protecting the integrity of the pharmaceutical supply chain is a responsibility we take very seriously, and preventing prescription drug abuse is a public policy goal that Cardinal Health fully supports,” Clark says in the statement.