by: Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press
FILE – In this Tuesday, May 8, 2007, file photo, a Purdue Pharma logo is affixed to part of a Purdue building in Stamford, Conn. Proposed settlements between the federal government and OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners cleared a major legal hurdle Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, when a bankruptcy judge said they could move ahead. (AP Photo/Douglas Healey, File)
NEWARK, NJ (AP) – OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has pleaded guilty to criminal charges and formally admitted its role in the opioid crisis.
Tuesday's plea before a judge in Newark, New Jersey, is part of a larger settlement with the U.S Department of Justice that also includes resolving civil claims.
The Stamford, Connecticut-based company is to pay $225 million as part of the deal, while $8 billion in forfeitures and penalties could be waived because of a proposed deal to resolve thousands of other lawsuits.
Advocates are upset that the guilty plea applies only to the company and not executives or members of the Sackler family who own it.
The lawsuits and trials against Purdue Pharma have also had implications in West Virginia's opioid epidemic.
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