Additional Resources Department Links Appellate Civil Criminal Consumer Protection Medical Fraud Control Unit Division of Criminal Investigation Employment Opportunities John R Justice Program Attorney General Biography Media Press Releases Publications Official Opinions Criminal Justice Directory Technology Contacts DCI History SOUTH DAKOTA REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH INDIVIOR OVER FALSE AND AGGRESSIVE MARKETING FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 PIERRE, S.D. -- Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg announced today that South Dakota and other states have reached an agreement with Indivior plc and Indivior Inc. (collectively “Indivior”) to settle allegations that Indivior falsely and aggressively marketed and otherwise promoted the drug Suboxone, resulting in improper expenditures of state Medicaid funds. The total portion of the settlement amount to be recovered by South Dakota is $33,034.36, of which $19,382.40 will be retained by the federal government as the federal Medicaid share. The remaining $13,651.96 will go to the state general fund* to offset alleged Medicaid damages in this case. Indivior Inc. (formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Indivior plc. Indivior will pay a total of $300,000,000 to resolve various civil fraud allegations impacting Medicaid and other government healthcare programs, of which $203,735,800 will go to Medicaid. Of this amount, $90,682,800 is to be paid to the fifty states, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, as their share of the Medicaid recovery. Suboxone is a drug product approved for use by recovering opioid addicts to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms while they undergo treatment. Suboxone and its active ingredient, buprenorphine, are powerful and addictive opioids. A National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (“NAMFCU”) Team participated in settlement negotiations. The Team included representatives from the Offices of the Attorneys General for the states of California, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Washington, and is the same team that worked on an earlier Reckitt settlement. The South Dakota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the South Dakota Department of Social Services assisted in recovering the settlement money. The civil settlement resolves the claims against Indivior brought in six qui tam lawsuits pending in federal courts in the Western District of Virginia and the District of New Jersey and follows the Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (“Reckitt”) $1.4 Billion settlement with the federal government and the states in 2019, which resolved Reckitt’s potential criminal and civil liability related to substantially similar allegations involving Suboxone. The 2019 settlement resulted in a total civil settlement of Seven Hundred Million Dollars ($700,000,000.00), of which Four Hundred Million Dollars ($400,000,000.00) was paid to the federal and state governments to resolve Medicaid fraud allegations resolved in the settlement. -30- *Payment Schedule (which includes interest) is as follows: Payment Date Payment Initial Payment $ 1,725.29 1/15/2022 $ 1,362.71 1/15/2023 $ 1,273.61 1/15/2024 $ 1,259.39 1/15/2025 $ 1,245.46 1/15/2026 $ 1,230.95 1/15/2027 $ 1,216.73 12/15/2027 $ 5,247.08 The South Dakota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $426,181 for Federal Fiscal year FY 2021. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $142,060 for FY 2021, is funded by South Dakota. The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the State of South Dakota and provides legal advice to agencies, boards, and commissions of the State as well as representing the State in state and federal court. The Office of Attorney General also handles prosecutions, felony criminal appeals, civil matters, consumer protection issues, and issues formal opinions interpreting statutes for agencies of the state. Visit www.atg.sd.gov to learn more. Connect with us on Facebook or on Twitter at @SDAttorneyGen CONTACT: Tim Bormann, Chief of Staff, (605) 773-3215
SOUTH DAKOTA REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH INDIVIOR OVER FALSE AND AGGRESSIVE MARKETING FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 PIERRE, S.D. -- Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg announced today that South Dakota and other states have reached an agreement with Indivior plc and Indivior Inc. (collectively “Indivior”) to settle allegations that Indivior falsely and aggressively marketed and otherwise promoted the drug Suboxone, resulting in improper expenditures of state Medicaid funds. The total portion of the settlement amount to be recovered by South Dakota is $33,034.36, of which $19,382.40 will be retained by the federal government as the federal Medicaid share. The remaining $13,651.96 will go to the state general fund* to offset alleged Medicaid damages in this case. Indivior Inc. (formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Indivior plc. Indivior will pay a total of $300,000,000 to resolve various civil fraud allegations impacting Medicaid and other government healthcare programs, of which $203,735,800 will go to Medicaid. Of this amount, $90,682,800 is to be paid to the fifty states, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, as their share of the Medicaid recovery. Suboxone is a drug product approved for use by recovering opioid addicts to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms while they undergo treatment. Suboxone and its active ingredient, buprenorphine, are powerful and addictive opioids. A National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (“NAMFCU”) Team participated in settlement negotiations. The Team included representatives from the Offices of the Attorneys General for the states of California, Indiana, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Washington, and is the same team that worked on an earlier Reckitt settlement. The South Dakota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the South Dakota Department of Social Services assisted in recovering the settlement money. The civil settlement resolves the claims against Indivior brought in six qui tam lawsuits pending in federal courts in the Western District of Virginia and the District of New Jersey and follows the Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (“Reckitt”) $1.4 Billion settlement with the federal government and the states in 2019, which resolved Reckitt’s potential criminal and civil liability related to substantially similar allegations involving Suboxone. The 2019 settlement resulted in a total civil settlement of Seven Hundred Million Dollars ($700,000,000.00), of which Four Hundred Million Dollars ($400,000,000.00) was paid to the federal and state governments to resolve Medicaid fraud allegations resolved in the settlement. -30- *Payment Schedule (which includes interest) is as follows: Payment Date Payment Initial Payment $ 1,725.29 1/15/2022 $ 1,362.71 1/15/2023 $ 1,273.61 1/15/2024 $ 1,259.39 1/15/2025 $ 1,245.46 1/15/2026 $ 1,230.95 1/15/2027 $ 1,216.73 12/15/2027 $ 5,247.08 The South Dakota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $426,181 for Federal Fiscal year FY 2021. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $142,060 for FY 2021, is funded by South Dakota. The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the State of South Dakota and provides legal advice to agencies, boards, and commissions of the State as well as representing the State in state and federal court. The Office of Attorney General also handles prosecutions, felony criminal appeals, civil matters, consumer protection issues, and issues formal opinions interpreting statutes for agencies of the state. Visit www.atg.sd.gov to learn more. Connect with us on Facebook or on Twitter at @SDAttorneyGen CONTACT: Tim Bormann, Chief of Staff, (605) 773-3215
