Declarations
“They used bogus front organizations and fake research; they used fraudulent advertising and deceptive trade practices. … And they repeatedly lied about the true risks of the drugs.”
— Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, after filing a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson and units of Endo International Plc, accusing the drug manufacturers of fraudulently misrepresenting the risks of opioid painkillers. The companies are accused of violating Missouri’s consumer protection laws and its Medicaid statutes, and seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and civil penalties.
“We’re talking about something that is so basic, it’s almost sad we have to legislate it. This is about working moms providing food for their babies.”
— Julia Parish, an attorney at Legal Aid at Work, hailed a decision by San Francisco supervisors, who approved legislation that requires employers to provide new mothers a clean and private space to pump their milk.
“Senior-citizen insurance discounts are meant to provide financial relief to the elderly, not illegally enrich fraudsters who want to avoid paying their fair share for coverage.”
— New Jersey Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino, after a Middlesex County, N.J., man was charged with insurance fraud and theft for allegedly impersonating his deceased mother to obtain cheaper renters insurance under her senior-discounted policy and for falsifying claims for jewelry and other items stolen during Superstorm Sandy. Nicholas Schneiderman was charged with two counts of insurance fraud, theft by deception, attempted theft by deception and impersonation.
“While we vigorously deny the allegations in the complaint, we share public officials’ concerns about the opioid crisis, and we are committed to working collaboratively to find solutions.”
— Purdue Pharma, in a statement responding to a lawsuit filed by three district attorneys representing parts of the east Tennessee mountains in Appalachia. The area has been the epicenter of the prescription drug epidemic that has ravaged the country. The lawsuit is among a growing number of such actions filed recently around the country against makers of opioid drugs.