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Sacklers Would Remain Billionaires & Admit No Wrongdoing Under Tentative Opioid Settlement

HeadlineSep 12, 2019

Purdue Pharma has reached a tentative proposed settlement with a number of state, local and tribal governments over the company’s role in fueling the U.S. opioid crisis. Under emerging details of the settlement, the Sackler family, which owns Purdue, would personally pay $3 billion in cash plus another $1.5 billion after the pending sale of a subsidiary company is completed. Purdue would then declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy and dissolve, before reforming to continue selling pharmaceuticals including the opioid OxyContin. Profits would be used to pay plaintiffs. Some prosecutors have vowed to oppose the deal. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement, “This apparent settlement is a slap in the face to everyone who has had to bury a loved one due to this family’s destruction and greed. It allows the Sackler family to walk away billionaires and admit no wrongdoing.”

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