EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill., July 24 (UPI) -- An Abbott Laboratories subsidiary in Chicago has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing a criminal investigation of fraud.
The North Chicago, Ill., company, in the business of selling liquid nutritional products to nursing homes, agreed to pay more than $200 million in criminal fines and payments and $400 million in civil payments, to bring close the multiyear federal inquiry.
The case involved an undercover white-collar sting operation run by federal investigators who secretly made videotapes of company sales representatives, the Wall Street Journal said.
While the federal judge in the case accepted the plea itself, in an unusual step he didn't immediately approve the terms of the plea agreement, which include the precise amount of fines to be paid.
"I can't make a horse run faster than it can," Judge G. Patrick Murphy said. He set an Oct. 27 hearing date to rule on whether he accepts those specific terms.
