TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Dec 20, 2024

New York based global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company Inc., has agreed to pay $650 million to resolve both criminal and civil investigations into its consulting work with opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma. The Department of Justice in a press release said the resolution relates to McKinsey’s advice to Purdue on the sales and marketing of the opioid drug OxyContin, including a 2013 engagement where McKinsey recommended strategies to "turbocharge" sales. McKinsey faces one felony count for destroying records to obstruct a government investigation and one misdemeanor count for conspiring with Purdue to misbrand prescription drugs. As part of the settlement, McKinsey will pay over $231 million in penalties, more than $93 million in forfeitures and $2 million to the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Additionally, the firm will pay over $323 million in a civil settlement. A former McKinsey senior partner who worked on Purdue matters has also been charged with obstruction of justice in federal court. According to the DOJ statement, the resolution marks the first time a management consulting firm has been held criminally responsible for advice resulting in the commission of a crime by a client.