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OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma to Plead Guilty to Three Criminal Charges
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to plead guilty to 3 criminal charges as part of an $8 billion-plus settlement
WASHINGTON (AP) — Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, the powerful prescription painkiller that experts say helped touch off an epidemic, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, Justice Department officials told The Associated Press.
The company will plead guilty to a criminal information being filed Wednesday in federal court in New Jersey to three counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, the officials said.
The deal does not release any of the company's executives or owners — members of the wealthy Sackler family — from criminal liability. A criminal investigation is ongoing.
The officials were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Also at: Business Insider, CBS News, and ABC News.
Guilty pleas? You seldom see that - these corporates always seem to get away with weasel word statements to the effect, "We acknowledge no wrongdoing blah blah blah . . . "
Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Opioid Crisis Charges, Will Become a Public Benefit Corporation
Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation's opioid crisis and will pay more than $8 billion and close down the company.
The money will go to opioid treatment and abatement programs. The privately held company has agreed to pay a $3.5 billion fine as well as forfeit an additional $2 billion in past profits, in addition to the $2.8 billion it agreed to pay in civil liability.
"Purdue Pharma actively thwarted the United States' efforts to ensure compliance and prevent diversion," said Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Administrator Tim McDermott. "The devastating ripple effect of Purdue's actions left lives lost and others addicted."The company doesn't have $8 billion in cash available to pay the fines. So Purdue will be dissolved as part of the settlement, and its assets will be used to create a new "public benefit company" controlled by a trust or similar entity designed for the benefit of the American public. The Justice Department said it will function entirely in the public interest rather than to maximize profits. Its future earnings will go to paying the fines and penalties, which in turn will be used to combat the opioid crisis.
That new company will continue to produce painkillers such as OxyContin, as well as drugs to deal with opioid overdose. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who announced the settlement, defended the plans for the new company to continue to sell that drug, saying there are legitimate uses for painkillers such as OxyContin.
Also at The New York Times, Bloomberg, NBC, and CBS.
Previously:
City of Everett, Washington Sues OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma
South Carolina Sues OxyContin Maker Purdue
Purdue Pharma to Cut Sales Force, Stop Marketing Opioids to Doctors
Colorado Attorney General Sues Purdue Pharma
OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma May File for Bankruptcy to Disrupt Lawsuits
After Pushing Addictive OxyContin, Purdue Now Pursuing Overdose Antidote
Purdue Pharma to Pay $270 Million Settlement to Oklahoma
Report Finds that Purdue Pharma Infiltrated WHO, Manipulated Opioid Policies to Boost Sales
Opioid Talks Fail, Purdue Bankruptcy Filing Expected
Makers of OxiCotin, Purdue Pharma, Files Reorganization Chapter 11 "Bankrupty"
Sacklers Threaten to Scrap Opioid Deal If They Aren't Shielded From Lawsuits
Report: Sacklers Using Fake Doctors, False Marketing to Sell OxyContin in China
OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma LP Said to be Brokering Plea Deal in Criminal Probe
(Score: 3, Interesting) by SpockLogic on Thursday October 22 2020, @12:10PM (3 children)
Let me know if and/or when anyone is indicted.
I won't hold my breath.
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday October 22 2020, @01:13PM (1 child)
Agreed. When do you ever see executives held responsible for the crimes they oversaw? Only when the crime is committed against the company itself, and not even reliably then.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 22 2020, @02:42PM
This is white collar crime involving billionaires, they won't be tried. That being said, the activities the were engaged in should be far more than what's necessary to pierce the veil separating them from the corporation and go after them directly. Just because you're organized as some sort of liability shielded corporate entity doesn't mean you get unlimited protection. They did go after a number of people involved with Enron and MCI-Worldcom back when they still prosecuted white collar crime occasionally. Otherwise every criminal syndicate would be an LLC and they wouldn't bother hiding their activities. They'd just start a new one every time the old one got busted.
The main reason why you probably won't see that happen now is that the politicians are that much more corrupt than they were back then. They pretend like ordinary people don't care or don't understand enough of what's going on to want blood, they are wrong. The people have a surprisingly good understanding of a lot of these crimes even if they don't understand all the specifics of how it works.
These are individuals who need to be publicly executed in front of the NYSE in order to serve as a warning for the rest of the traitorous rats that their time can come too.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday October 22 2020, @05:23PM
I'm not holding my breath either. But....both articles do say the criminal investigation is still in progress.
This is from the Business Insider one: