Attorney General Curtis Hill filed a lawsuit against members of the Sackler family, alleging that as owners and directors of Purdue Pharma the Sacklers have played a key role in worsening the opioid crisis in Indiana. Purdue Pharma is best known for making and marketing the painkiller OxyContin.
In November of 2018, Attorney General Hill filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, alleging the company intentionally understated the health risks of long-term opioid use and deceptively marketed several drugs in ways that violated Indiana law. That matter remains pending in Marion Superior Court.
In the lawsuit, the State of Indiana alleges that members of the Sackler family directed, approved of, and participated in their company’s destructive strategies. The lawsuit further alleges that the Sacklers enriched themselves to the tune of billions of dollars from these schemes. According to a press release from Hill, the Sacklers instructed Purdue Pharma to distribute approximately $4.3 billion to the Sackler family from April 2008 until 2016 alone.
The lawsuit alleges that these members of the Sackler family – who individually served as Purdue Pharma’s CEO, vice presidents and/or board directors – violated the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, the Prescription Drug Discount and Benefit Card Statute, the False Claims Act and the Medicaid False Claims Act, among other unlawful activities. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, treble damages, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and restitution of sums constituting unjust enrichment.
The Office of the Attorney General intends to continue working to ensure that any funds becoming available through this action would be used to help address the public health crisis brought on by Purdue Pharma’s and the Sackler family’s misconduct.