"The Sacklers are not bankrupt. Nobody thinks for a second that the Sacklers have no money."
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the family behind Stamford-based Purdue Pharma is exploiting the company's federal bankruptcy hearings in an attempt to gain protection from lawsuits.
Now, he's critical of a statement by family member David Sackler during New York-based bankruptcy proceedings Tuesday. The family won't finalize the settlement unless it's granted protection, or "released," from all legal claims, Sackler said.
"It's not typical for wealthy individuals like the Sacklers, who are very powerful, to go into bankruptcy court and abuse that process and force us to give them releases," Tong said.
"They've gone in to the bankruptcy of the company, and they're saying, 'Hey, judge, while you're dealing with the company, why don't you let us go, too?' That is not right. That is against the law," he added. "That's never been done before that a court has forced states to give up our claims against wrongdoers like the Sacklers, and that's why I'm pushing so hard against this plan."
Tong has rejected Purdue's $4.5 billion settlement deal with fifteen states, saying it's not big enough to cover the devastating damage the company did to society.
Thousands of lawsuits claim that Purdue, through its marketing of the highly addictive painkiller Oxycontin, is responsible for sparking the national opioid crisis, which has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.
Tong spoke to WTIC's Dave Mager: