Purdue Pharma Sentenced to Pay Over $5 Billion in Criminal Penalties for Role in Opioid Epidemic

Northeast Radio SD News – National News - Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP was sentenced in federal court Tuesday and ordered to pay more than $5 billion in criminal penalties for its role in fueling the nationwide opioid crisis.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Purdue “put profits over patient health and safety,” willfully ignoring the diversion of its highly addictive prescription opioids and contributing to a crisis that “claimed countless lives and destroyed entire families and communities.”

FBI Director Kash Patel called the epidemic a “plague” and said Purdue “blatantly ignored the health and safety of patients” in pursuit of profit. Federal officials emphasized that the sentence reflects years of investigative work aimed at holding the company accountable.

A Landmark Corporate Enforcement Case

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva described the prosecution as “one of the most important corporate enforcement cases ever brought by the Department of Justice,” noting that Purdue continued to push opioid sales even when it knew providers were prescribing the drugs without a legitimate medical purpose.

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said Purdue’s conduct “fueled a surge in addiction and cost many Americans' lives,” adding that the prescription opioid crisis directly paved the way for today’s fentanyl epidemic.

HHS‑OIG Inspector General T. March Bell said the sentence delivers “long‑overdue accountability” for Purdue’s unlawful conduct, which included violations of federal anti‑kickback laws.

Illegal Marketing, Kickbacks, and Fraud

According to court documents, between 2007 and 2017, Purdue:

·         Illegally marketed opioid products to hundreds of prescribers it knew were issuing prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose

·         Defrauded the DEA by misrepresenting the effectiveness of its diversion‑prevention programs

·         Used prescriptions from problematic prescribers to justify requests to manufacture more opioids

·         Paid kickbacks to doctors through a speaker program

·         Paid kickbacks to an electronic health records platform to boost opioid prescriptions

U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer of New Jersey said Purdue “made billions by unlawfully marketing dangerous opioid products and deceiving the DEA and the American people.”

Penalties Total More Than $5 Billion

The court ordered Purdue to pay:

·         $3.544 billion in criminal fines

·         $2 billion in criminal forfeiture

Up to $1.775 billion of the forfeiture may be credited under Purdue’s bankruptcy plan if the company is restructured as a public benefit company. Under that structure, proceeds would be directed to state, local, and tribal opioid abatement programs.

Purdue must also create a public document repository containing records related to the criminal charges.

Background of the Case

Purdue pleaded guilty on Nov. 24, 2020, to:

·         Conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

·         Two counts of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti‑Kickback Statute

The case was investigated by the FBI Washington, D.C., Field Office, with assistance from HHS-OIG and the DEA. Prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in New Jersey and Vermont handled the case.