The e-commerce giant eBay will pay $59 million in a settlement with the Justice Department over thousands of pill press machines sold on the platform.
The machines can be used to manufacture counterfeit pills that look just like prescription pills but instead can be laced with substances like fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug that is largely fueling the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history, according to the Justice Department. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sellers of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment are required to verify buyers' identities, keep records, and report to the Drug Enforcement Administration to make sure the machines are traceable and not used illegally.
The Justice Department says San Jose-based eBay, which provides a platform for people to make online sales, failed to meet those requirements for thousands of pill presses and pill-filling encapsulating machines, including high-capacity pill presses capable of producing thousands of pills per hour.
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In hundreds of cases, pill-press buyers also bought counterfeit molds or dies that allowed them to make pills mimicking legitimate prescription pills, authorities said. Many people who bought pill presses on eBay have since been charged in illegal counterfeit pills trafficking cases, according to the Justice Department.
“Counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl are a significant contributor to the deadly overdose epidemic,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.
More than 100,000 deaths were linked to drug overdoses in 2022, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and over two-thirds of those involved fentanyl or similar synthetic drugs.
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"Through its website, eBay made it easy for individuals across the country to obtain the type of dangerous machines that are often used to make counterfeit pills," said U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest of Vermont.
The company has agreed to step up its compliance program on sales of pill presses as well as counterfeit molds, stamps and dies, and encapsulating machines, which are used to fill pills.
The company's failure to follow "basic reporting and record keeping requirements” allowed people to "set up pill factories in their homes and to do so without detection," said U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee.
eBay issued the following statement Wednesday:
"Maintaining a safe and trusted marketplace for our global community of sellers and buyers is a fundamental principle of our business. eBay is proud of its well-recognized, proactive and voluntary efforts to remove the products that were the subject of the government’s inquiry from our marketplace. While eBay acted lawfully and denies the DOJ’s allegations, we determined that this agreement is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders as it avoids the costs, uncertainty and distraction associated with protracted litigation.
"eBay’s actions to remove products that could be used for counterfeit pills – including dies, molds and pill presses – prior to any request from the DOJ or other authorities, and years before the government turned its attention to these products, prevented tens of thousands of potentially problematic listings from appearing on our marketplace. Government officials have repeatedly commended eBay for our partnership with law enforcement and efforts to support investigations into illegal pill press usage."
