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Fraud

Multistate Coalition Secures $7.4 Billion Opioid Settlement, AGs Address Scams and Protection

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

A multistate coalition of 55 State Attorneys General, representing all US states and territories, announced a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin and other synthetic opioids, and the Sackler Family, Purdue's owners. The settlement would resolve all pending litigation against the Sacklers and the family's pharmaceutical company for their involvement in the opioid crisis in the United States.

The announcement comes about a year after the Supreme Court struck down the last proposed nationwide settlement with Purdue Pharma, finding that the U.S. Bankruptcy Code would not allow Purdue to shield members of the Sackler family from liability. Most of the settlement funds are earmarked to support addiction recovery in impacted communities throughout the country.

In addition to the opioid settlement, State AGs took action against scams and scammers. A multistate coalition of 19 State Attorneys General filed an amicus brief in support of the Jobs Corps program, a national job training and vocational program that provides professional training and housing to thousands of young Americans who are at risk of homelessness without the program.

Arizona Attorney General Mayes announced a new partnership with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to launch new consumer protection programming, warning Arizonans of common scams, including bitcoin and cryptocurrency schemes, fraudulent celebrity advertisements, and new scam horizons broadened by artificial intelligence.

Key Takeaways:

  • A multistate coalition of 55 State Attorneys General secured a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family to resolve all pending litigation against the pharmaceutical company for their involvement in the opioid crisis.
  • The settlement funds will support addiction recovery in impacted communities throughout the country.
  • Arizona Attorney General Mayes partnered with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to launch new consumer protection programming, creating videos to warn Arizonans of common scams and providing resources for residents to report scams.
  • California Attorney General Bonta filed charges against a real estate agent for price gouging victims of the Palisades Fire by increasing rental prices by over 30% despite the local declaration of emergency.
  • Missouri Attorney General Bailey issued a series of tips to help consumers avoid common scams after disasters, with an emphasis on construction fraud, price gouging, and charity scams.
  • New York Attorney General James secured a court order freezing $300,000 worth of cryptocurrency linked to a wide-reaching investment scam targeting Russian-speaking New Yorkers.
  • Washington Attorney General Brown filed a complaint against five apartment complexes and their property management firm for marketing the complexes as low-income units for senior tenants, despite charging unmanageably high rents to vulnerable tenants.
  • West Virginia Attorney General McCuskey warned West Virginians about potential price-gouging in the wake of intense flooding in the state.

Statistics:

  • $7.4 billion: The amount of the multistate settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family.
  • 55: The number of states and territories represented in the multistate coalition that secured the settlement.
  • 19: The number of State Attorneys General who filed an amicus brief in support of the Jobs Corps program.
  • 30%: The percentage increase in rental prices charged by a real estate agent in California during the Palisades Fire.
  • $300,000: The amount of cryptocurrency frozen by New York Attorney General James in a wide-reaching investment scam.
  • $1 million: The estimated amount of losses caused by the investment scam targeting Russian-speaking New Yorkers.
  • 100+ web domains: The number of web domains seized as part of the investigation into the investment scam.
  • $140,000: The amount of USD stolen from victims via digital asset tracing.
  • 100+ private school guards: The number of employees underpaid by security services provider Secured24.

Sources:

  • Crowell & Moring's State Attorneys General team
  • California Attorney General's Office
  • New York Attorney General's Office
  • Washington Attorney General's Office
  • West Virginia Attorney General's Office
  • Mondaq Ltd

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