Purdue Pharma has been sentenced and ordered to pay more than $5 billion in criminal penalties for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic.
A federal court in Newark, N.J., ordered a criminal fine of $3.544 billion and an additional $2 billion in criminal forfeiture, according to an April 28 Justice Department news release. The Justice Department will credit up to $1.775 billion against the forfeiture amount based on value provided to state, local and tribal governments through Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings if the drugmaker “ceases to operate in its current form and emerges from bankruptcy as a public benefit company or entity with a similar mission designed for the benefit of the American public.”
According to court documents, Purdue illegally marketed opioid products to prescribers from 2007 to 2017 and paid kickbacks to induce prescribing. The company also misrepresented programs intended to prevent drug diversion to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Purdue pleaded guilty Nov. 24, 2020, to three felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.
The sentencing follows a separate $7.5 billion opioid settlement tied to Purdue’s bankruptcy, which was cleared by a federal court in November and outlines plans to dissolve the company and transfer assets to a new nonprofit entity.
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