Civil enforcement brought in almost $596 million in 2023, most of it from New Jersey’s share of settled opioid settlements in multi-state lawsuits, Attorney General Matt Platkin announced today.
That represents a 37% increase in recovered dollars over the previous year in environmental, taxation, consumer affairs, and debt recovery.
For their alleged distribution roles in the opioid crisis, New Jersey brought in $142.9 million from Walgreens, $131.4 million from CVS Health and CVS Pharmacy, $99.8 million from Teva Pharmaceuticals, $74.4 million from Walmart, $59.4 million from Allergan, $4.5 million from Mallinckrodt.
“Every day, my primary focus is protecting our residents. When we go to court, we fight for them. We fight to provide relief for families devastated by the opioid epidemic. We fight for consumers who have been scammed out of their hard-earned dollars. We fight against large corporations who have unlawfully used their power to raise prices on everything from cellphones to Springsteen and Taylor Swift tickets. We fight for kids targeted by large social media companies who knowingly put profits ahead of our kids’ mental health,” said Attorney General Platkin.
The total amount doesn’t include legal actions that have delivered restitution for victims, including consumer fraud, investors, and debt relief.
The attorney general’s office clawed back $33.6 million from JUUL Labs for deceptive marketing and sales practices conducted by the e-cigarette manufacturer and $8 million from MJ & Sons connected to an illegal dumping scheme, the largest environmental justice case in the state last year.
“I am proud that, thanks to the work of our dedicated attorneys, we have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars back into our residents’ pockets and made them safer in the process,” said Platkin. “We will never stop fighting for them.”