Overview

• Martin Elling, a former senior partner at McKinsey & Co, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by deleting records related to the firm's consulting work for Purdue Pharma.
• Elling's actions were linked to McKinsey's 2013 'Evolve to Excellence' strategy, which included intensifying marketing efforts to 'high-value' opioid prescribers to boost OxyContin sales.
• Investigators found Elling had deleted emails and files from his company-issued laptop in 2018, knowing they were relevant to ongoing government investigations into Purdue Pharma.
• McKinsey recently agreed to pay $650 million to resolve related charges, following years of litigation over its role in the opioid epidemic that has claimed nearly 727,000 lives between 1999 and 2022.
• Elling faces up to a year in prison under his plea agreement, with sentencing scheduled for April 4, 2025.