DOJ Purdue Settlement Allows Sacklers to Keep Billions in Extracted Wealth

On October 21, 2020, the Department of Justice announced a settlement totaling more than $8 billion with Purdue Pharma—touted as the largest penalties ever levied against a pharmaceutical manufacturer—yet the settlement allowed the Sackler family to keep the vast majority of billions extracted from the company. Individual Sacklers agreed to pay only $225 million while retaining an estimated $11-13 billion in wealth extracted before bankruptcy.

Headline Numbers Mask Sackler Protection

The DOJ settlement included a criminal fine of $3.544 billion, $2 billion in criminal forfeiture, and a $2.8 billion civil settlement—impressive numbers designed for headlines. However, Purdue was bankrupt, making most of these penalties uncollectible. Meanwhile, the Sackler family members who directed the criminal conduct agreed to pay just $225 million arising from alleged conduct by Richard Sackler, David Sackler, Mortimer D.A. Sackler, Kathe Sackler, and Jonathan Sackler.

Billions Already Moved Offshore

The Sacklers’ minimal $225 million payment came after they had withdrawn approximately $11-13 billion from Purdue Pharma over the previous decade, moving assets to offshore bank accounts and family trusts. Congressional lawmakers criticized the settlement as “a mirage designed to help the Sacklers keep billions in ill-gotten gains.”

No Criminal Charges for Executives

Despite Purdue’s guilty plea to conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, no Sackler family members or executives faced criminal charges or prosecution. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong stated: “The federal government had the power here to put the Sacklers in jail, and they didn’t.”

Pattern Established in 2007 Continues

The 2020 settlement followed the exact pattern established by Purdue’s 2007 guilty plea: massive headline fines, guilty pleas from the company, but zero prison time for executives who directed the criminal conduct. The 2007 case involved $634 million in penalties and no jail time; the 2020 case involved $8+ billion in penalties and again no jail time—demonstrating that increasing fine amounts without personal criminal consequences has zero deterrent effect.

Settlement During Bankruptcy

The timing of the DOJ settlement—while Purdue was in bankruptcy proceedings—meant the criminal fines would never be fully paid. The settlement essentially allowed the government to claim credit for record penalties while ensuring the Sackler family retained their extracted billions and faced no meaningful personal consequences.

State Attorneys General Opposition

Multiple state attorneys general opposed the settlement, arguing the federal government had the authority and evidence to criminally prosecute Sackler family members but chose not to. States had documented the Sacklers’ personal involvement in directing Purdue’s fraudulent marketing campaign through internal company documents and emails.

Death Toll Context

By October 2020, over 450,000 Americans had died from opioid overdoses since OxyContin’s 1996 launch. The Sackler family’s $225 million payment represented approximately $500 per death—while they retained billions in personal wealth. This calculation starkly illustrates the disproportion between harm caused and accountability imposed.

Precedent for Pharmaceutical Impunity

The DOJ’s failure to criminally prosecute Sackler family members despite documented evidence of their role in directing criminal conduct established that pharmaceutical executives could knowingly engage in conduct killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, extract billions in personal wealth, and face only civil penalties representing a tiny fraction of their fortune.

This settlement represents one of the starkest examples of two-tiered justice in American history: ordinary Americans face prosecution and prison for drug offenses, while billionaire pharmaceutical executives whose products killed hundreds of thousands face no criminal charges and keep their fortunes.