Sacklers siphoned nearly $11 billion from Purdue amid opioid crisis
As the epidemic of opioid abuse and overdoses ravaged the United Statesclaiming hundreds of thousands of livesthe Sackler family withdrew more than $10 billion from its company, OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma. That's according to a new 350-page audit commissioned by Purdue as part of the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring.
The revelation is likely to fuel arguments from some states that say the Sacklers should offer up more cash to settle the more than 2,800 lawsuits accusing them and Purdue of helping to spark the opioid crisis. The plaintiffs in those casesmostly states and local governmentscollectively allege that Purdue and the Sacklers used aggressive and misleading marketing to push their highly addictive painkillers onto doctors and patients.
In a proposed $10-$12 billion settlement, the family has offered at least $3 billion of its own fortune. The family also said it would give up ownership of Purdue, which will transform itself into a public-benefit trust.
While some of the states have tentatively agreed to the deal, 24 states say that the offer isn't good enoughand that the information in the new audit proves it.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/12/sacklers-siphoned-nearly-11-billion-from-purdue-amid-opioid-crisis/?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=biz&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_mailing=Thematic_Business_12302019&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9f8cb24c17c6adf0e5d24&cndid=25394153&utm_term=Thematic_Business
Article is a couple of weeks old. I'm surprised nothing on this has been posted.