Purdue Pharma reached a deal with the Justice Department in 2020 to resolve criminal and civil probes. The company admitted it did not have an effective program to prevent its prescription painkillers from being diverted to the black market, and it paid doctors through a speakers program and paid an electronic medical records company to encourage more opioid prescriptions. Only the company was charged, not individuals. The guilty plea and civil settlement included $8.3 billion in forfeitures, fines and penalties, but the federal government agreed to collect just $225 million in exchange for the company reaching a separate settlement of lawsuits.
The broader sentence was approved by a bankruptcy judge in November but cannot take effect until the criminal sentence is given. The judge delayed the hearing to ensure victims had a voice, after a small group protested outside the courthouse. Previously, the sentencing was scheduled to be by video conference only.
Some victims were scheduled to give impact statements. More than 54,000 people with personal injury claims voted to accept the settlement, with around 200 voting against. The judge's decision on the negotiated sentence remains uncertain, as does the exact structure of the replacement company.