Purdue Pharma, a pharmaceutical behemoth that was previously sued by thousands of municipal governments and more than twenty states, has now reached a nationwide settlement.
Purdue gained fame for perpetuating the use of OxyContin, a gateway drug into the world of much more potent opioids. Many have credited the Sacklers, the family that owns the company, as being responsible for a nationwide opioid epidemic that has killed hundreds across the country and damaged multiple families.
The deal entails Purdue filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, to be replaced with another stand-in company that would continue to sell drugs like OxyContin to cover legal expenses. What's more is that the company has agreed to donate drugs to help the rehabilitation of affected consumers, and reverse some of the damage they have caused.
However, tax experts claim that the settlements are actually veiled to help the pharmaceutical giant write off some of its payments to avoid paying taxes.
Purdue released a statement that said: "Purdue Pharma continues to work with all plaintiffs on reaching a comprehensive resolution to its opioid litigation that will deliver billions of dollars and vital opioid overdose rescue medicines to communities across the country impacted by the opioid crisis."
Interestingly, shortly after the settlement was announced, it was found that the Sackler family had in fact transferred about $1 billion between wire transfers among Swiss bank accounts in order to sheath its immense wealth and the fact that it profited from the opioid crisis.
"While the Sacklers continue to lowball victims and skirt a responsible settlement, we refuse to allow the family to misuse the courts in an effort to shield their financial misconduct," Letitia James, now the state's attorney general, said in a statement. "Records from one financial institution alone have shown approximately $1 billion in wire transfers between the Sacklers, entities they control, and different financial institutions, including those that have funneled funds into Swiss bank accounts," she added.
In particular, former Purdue board member, Mortimer D.A. Sackler was pinned as having a stake in the transfers. One of the transfers even highlighted that $64 million was put into Sackler's account back in 2009 from a then-nebulous trust called Purdue Pharma Trust MDAS.
A firm representing Mortimer D.A. Sackler, retorted in his defense: "This is a cynical attempt by a hostile A.G.'s office to generate defamatory headlines to try to torpedo a mutually beneficial settlement that is supported by so many other states and would result in billions of dollars going to communities and individuals across the country that need help."