NY AG James Goes After Sacklers Finances

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James has released the following statement after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York issued a ruling last night allowing subpoenas to move forward against banks and entities that have held the finances of the Sackler family over the past decade-and-a-half:

“We are pleased that the court authorized this examination of the Sacklers’ finances to proceed while the case against Purdue Pharma continues through the bankruptcy process. The opioid epidemic has ravaged American communities, while a single family has made billions profiting from this destruction. Just because Purdue Pharma has declared bankruptcy does not mean its owners deserve special protections under the law. We will immediately be issuing new subpoenas to multiple banks and financial institutions to determine where the Sacklers have stored their money over the years and how much has been stashed away. This case will not come to an end without these key pieces of information.”

Last year, a single New York subpoena of one of the many banks that have managed the Sackler family’s finances exposed where the family had moved just a fraction of its money over the years. Days later, Purdue declared bankruptcy, and since then, the Sackler family has received the benefits of bankruptcy protection without filing for bankruptcy themselves.