Pfizer to pay $2.3 Billion in settlement

From the bloomberg.com article:

Pfizer Inc. agreed to a $1.2 billion criminal fine, the largest in U.S. history, and a felony plea by a subsidiary to close an investigation into what government lawyers described as fraudulent marketing of drugs.

The fine, over sales practices for a painkiller since pulled from the market, makes up the biggest single share of a record $2.3 billion settlement, announced today, between the U.S. Justice Department and New York-based Pfizer. The deal includes $1 billion in civil penalties, the largest non-criminal fraud case against a drugmaker, the department said.

Click here to access the bloomberg.com article. Also check out the examiner.com article, an excerpt:

In an FBI press release today, the federal government announced that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will pay $2.3 billion in civil and criminal fines for promoting "off label" uses of three of its big selling drugs by doctors treating patients in the Defense Department and Postal Service health plans. Even the FBI admits in its release that the "fraud" charges result not from injury or illness suffered by any of these patients, but rather from government payment of health insurance claims for "off label" prescriptions to federal employees.

Click here to access the examiner.com article. Click here to read the FBI news release.