Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Penalties vary for companies convicted of crimes

Brian Wanamaker is a criminal defense attorney with Ritchie, Dillard, Davies & Johnson. This column is provided through the Knoxville Bar Association.

Most companies expect the occasional civil judgment or fine; they rarely expect to plead guilty to a criminal offense. Global health care company Abbott Laboratories Inc. recently agreed to do just that to resolve civil and criminal liability issues related to off-label marketing of its anti-seizure medication Depakote. Abbott agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor and pay about $1.6 billion. That is one hefty misdemeanor.

Read the full story at:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/jun/04/penalties-vary-for-companies-convicted-of-crimes/