MASSDEVICE ON CALL — The Minnesota department of the U.S. Attorney’s office collected $53 million in penalties in 2012, and $23.5 million of that came from a single charge against medical device company Medtronic (NYSE:MDT).
Medtronic paid the fine to settle allegations that it offered illegal kickbacks to encourage doctors to use its implantable pacemakers and defibrillators. The Fridley, Minn.-based med-tech titan admitted to no improper or unlawful action in settling the case.
The kickbacks case closed late last year, but the $23.5 million fine was marked on the Attorney’s Office’s 2012 inventory.
In total, U.S. Attorney’s Offices collected $13.1 billion in 2012, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.
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