U.S. prosecutors are pursuing possible penalties of nearly $13 billion to resolve investigations of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma after uncovering evidence of criminal and civil misconduct stemming from the company's alleged role in fueling the nation's opioid crisis, people familiar with the matter said.
NEW YORK - U.S. prosecutors are pursuing possible penalties of nearly $13 billion to resolve investigations of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma after uncovering evidence of criminal and civil misconduct stemming from the company’s alleged role in fueling the nation’s opioid crisis, people familiar with the matter said.
As with other Purdue creditors, the Justice Department had to meet a July 30 deadline to assert financial claims against the company. The initial claims seek about $10 billion in criminal penalties, consisting of a fine exceeding $6 billion and a forfeiture of more than $3 billion, as well as a civil penalty of nearly $3 billion, one of the people said.
That includes $3 billion from the Sacklers and value derived from the Stamford, Connecticut-based firm transforming into a public benefit company run on behalf of plaintiffs that would donate addiction treatment drugs and opioid overdose-reversal medications under development. A separate civil investigation is focused in part on the company’s alleged defrauding of government healthcare programs such as Medicare, one of the people said.
Purdue said it is cooperating with the Justice Department probes and in discussions to resolve them, but declined to comment further. A lawyer for the Raymond Sackler family said the family acted ethically and responsibly at all times, but declined to comment on the Justice Department’s filings. Representatives for another group of Sacklers had no immediate comment.
The lawsuits against Purdue and, in some cases, the Sacklers allege they aggressively marketed prescription painkillers while misleading doctors and patients about their addiction and overdose risks.
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