April 28 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Purdue Pharma to pay more than $5 billion in criminal penalties, clearing the way for the OxyContin maker to complete its bankruptcy settlement agreement and resolve thousands of opioid-related lawsuits filed against it by states, local governments, tribes and other plaintiffs.
The sentence, handed down by a federal court in Newark, N.J., comes after Purdue pleaded guilty in October 2020 to charges over its role in the opioid crisis.
Prosecutors said the Sackler family-owned company worsened the crisis that has killed hundreds of thousands across the United States by aggressively marketing its addictive drugs while downplaying the risks of overdose and addiction.
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against the company over its role in the crisis, and Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 as part of an agreement to resolve them.
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