OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma pleads guilty to federal criminal charges

Purdue Pharma, the drugmaker blamed for helping to unleash America's staggering opioid crisis, agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges as part of an $8 billion settlement over its marketing of OxyContin, the Department of Justice revealed Wednesday.

The company agreed to pay the massive fines and admit criminal liability, but company executives and the Sackler family that owns Purdue Pharma do not admit to any criminal wrongdoing in the agreement. However, the settlement does not shield them from potential criminal liability in the future.

The company will pay $225 million as part of a larger $2 billion criminal forfeiture, according to a Justice Department news release. In addition to that forfeiture, Purdue faces a $3.54 billion criminal fine and has agreed to a civil settlement of $2.8 billion, the release said. Sackler family members separately agreed to pay $225 million to resolve civil fines.