Massachusetts

Prosecutors Seek $74M in Deadly Meningitis Outbreak

Federal prosecutors say a Massachusetts pharmacy owner who was sentenced to prison after a nationwide meningitis outbreak that killed 76 people and sickened hundreds more should pay nearly $74 million in restitution.

In a filing on Tuesday, prosecutors said the money would compensate about half of the victims of the 2012 outbreak for their expenses and lost income. The outbreak was traced to contaminated injections of medical steroids made by the now-defunct New England Compounding Center in Framingham.

An attorney for Barry Cadden tells the Boston Globe that he doesn't have enough money to make the payments. He also noted that Cadden was not found directly responsible for the deaths, but was instead convicted of conspiracy and fraud charges.

Cadden was sentenced in June to nine years in prison.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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