Judge bans more Purdue payments to AG groups

STAMFORD — Bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma cannot make any additional contributions to the national Democratic and Republican attorneys general’s associations or other AG-focused groups, according to a new court mandate.

Judge Robert Drain’s order Tuesday responded to a creditors committee’s request for Purdue to seek court approval before making further payments to political groups after recent filings showed that it had given a total of $185,000 to governors’ and attorneys general’s groups since filing for bankruptcy last September. Those disclosures soon led to the return of those funds.

“While Purdue’s longstanding memberships are in line with payments we and hundreds of other companies have made for years, we understand the concerns raised by certain creditors, and we worked quickly and constructively with them to resolve this issue,” Purdue said in a statement Wednesday. “The order entered by the court memorializes an agreement that had been reached with creditors before the hearing, and the order was entered with the consent and support of both Purdue and its creditors.”

Connecticut Attorney General William

Tong declined to comment.

Earlier this month, the federal bankruptcy case’s Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors had asked political groups that received money from Purdue in the past year to give back those funds because of its concerns about the ethics of the disbursements.

State attorneys general are playing major roles in the bankruptcy, which is trying to settle approximately 3,000 lawsuits — including complaints from Connecticut and nearly every other state — that allege Stamford-based Purdue fueled the opioid crisis with deceptive marketing of OxyContin. Connecticut comprises one of 24 states that have not accepted Purdue’s settlement offer, which the company has valued at more than $10 billion.

Under Drain’s order, Purdue cannot give further to the Democratic Attorneys General Association or Republican Attorneys General Association.

Both groups have said they would return Purdue’s recent contributions. The company gave $60,000 to RAGA last October, and $25,000 to DAGA last December.

At the same time, the company can still contribute to the Democratic Governors Association, the Republican Governors Association, the Republican State Leadership Committee and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.

Purdue gave $50,000 each to the DGA and RGA in January. The DGA and RGA have said they would return those contributions.

The company cannot give more than $25,000 to any political group during the remainder of the bankruptcy process, not including incidental costs such as conference registration fees.

It could contribute to other political organizations — but only after notifying the court.

In total, any future political spending by Purdue cannot exceed $125,000 during the bankruptcy.

Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Purdue Pharma headquarters at 201 Tresser Blvd. in downtown Stamford.