PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha announced Thursday that his office gleaned more than $512 million in the latest fiscal year from forfeitures of assets by criminal and civil wrongdoers and from collections in civil lawsuits.
By far the largest lump sum was disgorged by Google, which paid the U.S. government $500 million as a penalty for Google's admitted facilitation of illegal sales of prescription pharmaceuticals from abroad to U.S. customers.
Google for years carried advertising on its search result pages from online Canadian pharmacies for the sale and importation of prescription drugs, although it was warned repeatedly by the U.S. government that it was acting illegally.
Almost half, $213 million, will benefit Rhode Island law enforcement agencies.