Overview
- The settlement, announced Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, requires Abbott to pay $384,999,040 to resolve a civil DOJ probe and related state claims stemming from its Sturgis, Michigan, plant.
- The Justice Department complaint alleges chronic roof leaks that dripped over equipment, temporary fixes called “roof leak umbrellas,” and damaged spray dryers run between extended cleaning cycles.
- Federal prosecutors say Abbott avoided or failed to disclose microbiological testing that could have shown contamination during FDA inspections in 2019 and 2022.
- The payment breaks down to about $348.7 million to the federal government, $36.3 million to states for Medicaid and WIC-related claims, and a roughly $69 million share for whistleblowers.
- Abbott says unopened, distributed product tested negative for Cronobacter and that the settlement is not an admission of criminal liability; the episode triggered a 2022 national formula shortage and federal actions such as eased imports and airlifts to protect infant nutrition access.