What did Purdue plead guilty to in 2020?
Three federal felonies: defrauding the DEA by misleading regulators about overprescribing efforts, paying kickbacks to doctors through an electronic health records company, and impeding the fight against the addiction crisis.
In October 2020 Purdue agreed to plead guilty to three federal felonies. According to NBC News, the counts covered defrauding the United States by misleading regulators about its efforts to curb overprescribing, and violating anti-kickback law by paying doctors to write more OxyContin prescriptions. Prosecutors also described a scheme in which Purdue paid electronic health record company Practice Fusion to create software alerts that nudged doctors toward prescribing opioids when not medically necessary.
At a hearing, Purdue formally admitted to impeding the DEA's efforts to combat the addiction crisis. This was the company's second criminal conviction for conduct tied to the same product, a rare outcome for a major drugmaker.