New audits show that the Sackler family has withdrawn over $10.4 billion from their Purdue Pharma company since 2008, a year after the company pleaded guilty about misinforming the public about the addiction dangers of their OxyContin pain medication.
The audit was made for two reasons; one to look over Purdue’s records for a bankruptcy filing and another to see if the Sackler family should pay a massive amount in reparations for their part in the opioid epidemic.
New York AG Letitia James told CBS “The fact that the Sackler Family was moving more than $10 billion when OxyContin was causing countless addictions, thousands of deaths and tearing apart millions is why we need to see detailed records showing how much the Sackler Family profited from the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic.”
New York is one of many states who have objected to a settlement from the Sackler Family, which would require them to give up their ownership in Purdue and give a $3 billion payment from their personal wealth.
More than 218,000 Americans have died from the opioid epidemic.
