Penalty Amount
$384,192,156
Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay more than $384 million — including $977,558 to Oregon — to resolve allegations that it sold powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products made in unsafe manufacturing conditions to Medicaid and food assistance programs such as WIC between January 2018 and December 2022. Investigators found Abbott failed to maintain manufacturing equipment and control water at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona, facilities, and withheld test results showing contamination during FDA inspections in 2019 and 2022. The settlement was negotiated by the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units on behalf of the federal government and 39 states.
Abbott will pay $348,700,868 to the federal government and $35,491,288 to 39 states for claims tied to their Medicaid programs, with Oregon receiving $977,558. The release does not describe additional injunctive or compliance obligations.
In-house legal teams at companies selling into government healthcare or nutrition programs (Medicaid, WIC) should review government program agreements and supply/manufacturing contracts for representations that products meet all applicable federal and state safety requirements, and for quality-control covenants covering equipment maintenance and water control at manufacturing facilities. Contracts should be checked for express duties to disclose contamination or failed test results to regulators during inspections, since withheld test results drove liability here. Vendor and contract-manufacturer agreements should include FDA/quality compliance warranties, audit and inspection cooperation clauses, and indemnification for government enforcement or false claims exposure arising from undisclosed product safety data. Customer and government contracts should also be reviewed for refund or credit obligations when products fail promised safety standards.
Entity
Abbott Laboratories
Industry
Healthcare"Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced today that Abbott Laboratories will pay Oregon $977,558"
"Under the settlement, Abbott will pay $348,700,868 to the federal government and $35,491,288 to 39 states for claims tied to their Medicaid programs."
"Abbott manufactured powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona, facilities without meeting federal and state safety requirements"
"Abbott also withheld test results showing that contamination was present at the Sturgis facility"
"A team from the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units investigated the case and negotiated the settlement on behalf of the states, with representatives from Oregon, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee."
"Abbott will pay Oregon $977,558, resolving allegations that it sold powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products made in unsafe manufacturing conditions to federal and state programs, including Medicaid and food assistance programs"
$384.2M
Connecticut joined 39 other states and the federal government in a $384 million False Claims Act settlement with Abbott Laboratories over allegations that the company failed to manufacture powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products in compliance with federal and state requirements at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona facilities. Abbott allegedly manufactured formula in conditions that risked microorganism contamination and failed to disclose contamination test results to the FDA during 2019 and 2022 inspections. The settlement resolves claims that Abbott caused false claims to be submitted to the WIC program and state Medicaid programs between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022.
$694.0M
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced a $694 million multistate settlement with Credit Acceptance Corporation (CAC), a subprime auto lender, resolving allegations that CAC originated unaffordable loans and allowed dealers to 'pack' unwanted Vehicle Service Contracts and Guaranteed Asset Protection products into consumer loans. The settlement provides $60 million in cash restitution, $634 million in debt relief, and injunctive reforms including off ramps for risky loans, enhanced disclosures, and dealer monitoring.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, leading a bipartisan coalition of 48 other state and territorial attorneys general, sent a letter urging the FCC to strengthen its 'Know Your Upstream Provider' (KYUP) rule so phone companies must properly vet, continuously monitor, and cut ties with upstream providers that facilitate illegal robocalls and caller ID spoofing. The coalition asks the FCC to set minimum vetting standards, require periodic re-checks rather than one-time contract reviews, strengthen caller ID authentication across the call chain, impose meaningful penalties, and mandate record-keeping for investigators. No fine or injunction was imposed; the letter notes Americans received more than 29.6 billion scam robocalls and texts last year and lost nearly $2 billion to these scams.
Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and AAMVA to block demands for a database containing personal information of 17 million commercial drivers. The federal government threatened to withhold $10 million in funding unless the data was turned over, which the coalition argues violates privacy law.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield co-led a coalition of 10 states in a federal lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to block a rule that invalidates state laws requiring mortgage lenders to pay interest on escrow accounts. The lawsuit argues the OCC's rule oversteps federal authority, gives national banks a competitive advantage over state-chartered banks, and takes money away from homeowners.
A federal judge ruled that Nexstar Media Group violated a court order requiring it to keep TEGNA Inc. operating as an independent company while a multistate antitrust lawsuit challenging the merger proceeds. The court found that Nexstar installed its own executives on TEGNA's board, failed to disclose the appointments, and lacked candor with the court. The court ordered Nexstar to comply immediately, file status reports, respond to discovery, and turn over board and financial documents, with a special master to oversee compliance.