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Makers of OxyContin to plead guilty to 3 charges as part of $8 billion lawsuit

FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2013 file photo, OxyContin pills are arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. A Nevada legislator asked the drug company that makes OxyContin to turn over information about Nevada doctors suspected of overprescribing the powerful pain medication. Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, wrote a letter to the president of the drug-maker Purdue Pharam on FridayAug. 16, 2013 saying the company has an ethical duty to provide the information to the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners. The Las Vegas Democrat is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary and longtime backer of efforts to curb prescription drug abuse. He made the request days after two California lawmakers did the same based on a Los Angeles Times' article that the company has a database of 1,800 doctors who showed signs of dangerous prescribing, but has referred only 154 cases to authorities since 2002. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
by: WRTV Staff
Posted: / Updated:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion.

OxyContin is the powerful prescription painkiller that experts say helped touch off an opioid epidemic.

The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws.

The deal doesn’t release any of the company’s executives or owners from criminal liability, and a criminal investigation is ongoing.

One state attorney general says the deal fails to hold accountable members of the wealthy Sackler family who own the company.

Family members say they had “ethically and lawfully,” while also expressing “deep compassion” for those addicted to opioids.

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