Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma Sentenced for Fraud and Kickback Conspiracies

Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP (Purdue) was sentenced today in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, and ordered to pay criminal penalties of over $5 billion for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic.

"Purdue Pharma put profits over patient health and safety," said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. "The company willfully rejected the law and ignored the diversion of their highly addictive prescription drugs. Their actions contributed to the opioid crisis that claimed countless lives and destroyed entire families and communities. Today's sentence is a prime example of the Department's effort to redress past wrongs by rooting out and punishing unlawful conduct by companies that have contributed to the national crisis."

"The opioid epidemic in the United States is a plague that has ruined lives and destroyed families," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "Purdue Pharma complicitly contributed to this national epidemic in the name of their own greed by blatantly ignoring the health and safety of patients putting countless lives at risk. The FBI and our DOJ partners will always work tirelessly to ensure that companies, like Pharma, pay for the harm they have inflicted and warn others that they will not get away with violating the law for personal gain."

"This generational case against Purdue Pharmaceuticals is one of the most important corporate enforcement cases ever brought by the Department of Justice," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "The opioid epidemic was and continues to be a national tragedy that has destroyed far too many lives, families, and communities. Purdue callously focused on profits when it knew that providers were prescribing these addictive opioids to patients without a legitimate medical purpose. While good progress has been made in combating the national opioid crisis, today's sentencing is a reminder that there is much additional work to be done. Companies like Purdue that place illicit profits over the obligation to be a good and honest corporate citizen will be investigated and prosecuted. Today's sentencing reflects Purdue's role in fueling the opioid crisis and concludes the Department's efforts to hold Purdue accountable for diversion of its products. The Criminal Division remains steadfast in our mission to seek justice on behalf of the American people."

"Purdue Pharma undermined the government's efforts to ensure compliance and prevent prescription drug diversion," said Administrator Terrance Cole of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). "Their actions fueled a surge in addiction and cost many Americans lives. The prescription opioid epidemic directly paved the way for today's fentanyl crisis. DEA remains committed to working with registrants, communities, faith-based organizations, and schools to address the damage and end the opioid epidemic that has gripped our nation for far too long."

"Purdue Pharma put profit ahead of American lives and, in doing so, helped engineer a public health catastrophe that has left a trail of suffering for families and communities across this nation," said Inspector General T. March Bell of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). "No penalty can undo the widespread devastation Purdue has inflicted, but today's sentence serves long-overdue accountability for its reckless and unlawful conduct. HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate large corporations and conglomerates when they violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and other federal laws designed to protect patients and the integrity of federally funded health care programs."

"Purdue made billions by unlawfully marketing dangerous opioid products, and deceiving the DEA and the American people," said U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey. "Purdue profited by paying illegal kickbacks to induce providers, including those who diverted opioids to drug abusers, to prescribe even more opioids. Today's multi-billion-dollar sentence holds Purdue accountable for its criminal conduct."

"By prioritizing profits over people, Purdue prolonged the suffering of patients, leaving them trapped in opioid addiction long after their initial pain subsided," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt for the District of Vermont. "While no resolution adequately could reflect the struggles of people across New England who lost their lives and their loved ones to addiction, today's sentence takes a substantial step toward recognizing and redressing the harm Purdue caused."

According to court documents, from 2007 and 2017, Purdue illegally marketed its opioid products to hundreds of prescribers the company had good reason to believe were prescribing these addictive drugs without a legitimate medical purpose. Purdue defrauded the DEA by misrepresenting the effectiveness of its programs designed to prevent illegal diversion, and used prescriptions written by problematic prescribers to justify its fraudulent requests to the DEA to increase the amount of its products it was permitted to manufacture. In order to induce doctors to prescribe more of its addictive opioid products, Purdue also paid kickbacks to prescribers through its doctor speaker program and to an electronic health record platform.

The court ordered Purdue to pay a criminal fine of $3.544 billion, which will be assessed in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings, and an additional $2 billion in criminal forfeiture. The Department will credit up to $1.775 billion against the $2 billion forfeiture amount based on the value conferred to state, local, and tribal governments through Purdue's bankruptcy if Purdue ceases to operate in its current form and emerges from bankruptcy as a public benefit company (PBC) or entity with a similar mission designed for the benefit of the American public. The proceeds of the PBC will be directed toward state and local opioid abatement programs. In addition, Purdue is required to host a public document repository containing documents relating to the criminal charges.

On Nov. 24, 2020, Purdue pleaded guilty to a three-count felony information charging it with one count of a dual-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

The FBI Washington D.C. Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from investigators from HHS-OIG and the DEA.

Trial Attorney Maryann McGuire of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Walk, Jordan Anger, and Robert Toll for the District of New Jersey and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia Cowles for the District of Vermont prosecuted the case.