OxyContin Maker Pleads Guilty In $8.3B Settlement

The New York Times reports:

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges of defrauding federal health agencies and violating anti-kickback laws, and faces penalties of roughly $8.3 billion, the Justice Department announced on Wednesday.

The company’s owners, members of the wealthy Sackler family, will pay $225 million in civil penalties.

Still, it is unlikely the company will end up paying anything close to the $8 billion negotiated in the settlement deal. That is because it is in bankruptcy court and the federal government will have to take its place in a long line of creditors. Typically, creditors end up collecting pennies on the dollar.

BREAKING: Justice Department officials tell The Associated Press that Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion. https://t.co/aooTUMXQ8N

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 21, 2020