American Tax Officer

Because they had previously escorted tax evaders to this place for trial multiple times, none of them were strangers here.

"Director David, hello, welcome to your arrival..."

In the City Bureau lobby, a group of senior officials was also waiting early. As soon as they saw David and his party arrive, they immediately came forward to show all sorts of enthusiasm.

While David was still busy shaking hands and greeting the senior officials of the City Bureau, the media outside exploded in speculation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can now see, Director David has arrived at the Los Angeles City Bureau of the IRS. It looks like the rumors are true, he is to be appointed as the head of the City Bureau,"
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"Dear viewers, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Director David has not been transferred to Silicon Valley, San Francisco, or Wall Street, New York, as some imagined. Instead, he has taken up the position of head of the Los Angeles City Bureau,"

"..."

For days, there had been rumors circulating about David's appointment as head of the Los Angeles City Bureau, but it had not been confirmed. However, today, various major media outlets finally confirmed the news.

"It's such a pity, he is just going to be the head of the Los Angeles City Bureau and we won't see Director David take on the giants of Silicon Valley and Wall Street,"

"I was looking forward to more juicy news like the Hollywood tax examination. It seems I won't get that chance now,"

"The tax investigation in Hollywood must have brought the IRS some sweet returns. They will definitely target places like Silicon Valley and Wall Street. It's just a matter of time. Let's not hurry and see what unfolds next!"

"..."

In these days, there was constant online speculation about where David would be transferred, with some social media platforms even opening up betting pools for it.

However, now that they've seen David has not been transferred to crack down on places like Silicon Valley and Wall Street as many had hoped or imagined, this naturally left them feeling somewhat disappointed.

While they felt disappointed, for investors in places like Silicon Valley and Wall Street, it was a cause for immense joy.

In recent times, due to rumors that David might be transferred to these two places to stir things up, the stock market had lost confidence, causing numerous investors substantial losses.

Fortunately, the market could finally stabilize now, and there was even hope for a rebound.

As expected, in the following days, both the NASDAQ index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average witnessed strong rebounds, and the stock market returned to its previous heated state.

Of course, Director David, now in his 10th-floor office at the City Bureau, had lost interest in all of this, as he was currently reviewing a document.

"Sackler family... Purdue Pharma..."

The Sackler family first mingled in Poland and then immigrated to America due to the chaos of war.

Initially, the family was just an ordinary Jewish household.

However, in the backdrop of a "wealth famine," the family's eldest son, Arthur, by selling advertisements and printing materials for schools, not only helped his family pay off their debts but also entered New York University to study schizophrenia and even earned a doctoral degree in medicine.

His two younger brothers also went on to work in the medical field.

In 1966, Purdue Pharma, a company founded by the three brothers, acquired a British pharmaceutical company that was researching an orally administered, non-injection, sustained-release morphine—OxyContin.

At that time, there were many cancer patients in America, and this medication could solve their pain issues.

The drug was officially launched in 1981 and instantly became a hit within America, reaching annual sales of 150 million US dollars just three years after release.

However, cancer patients alone certainly could not consume so much medication. So where did the excess go?

Simply put, the most important ingredient in the medication was morphine, which is extracted from opium poppies and is the twin brother of opium, hence the answer is self-evident.

Tasting the sweetness of success, the Sackler family later invested 40 million US dollars to develop a new painkiller—OxyContin.

Once this drug was introduced, it was affectionately referred to as "hillbilly heroin" by Americans.

In the days that followed, the drug, under the guise of legality, became a treasured commodity for addicts across the nation, filling the Sackler family's coffers to the brim.

They were even listed by financial media as one of the wealthiest families in America, ranking 19th at one point.

Although the Sackler family managed to deal with the FDA using money, in 2006, the federal prosecutors in Virginia State detected an issue with the drug and prepared to charge Purdue Pharma with serious crimes. Eventually, however, under the Sacklers' maneuvering, the company was only fined 600 million US dollars.

As time went on, more and more people became aware of the drug's catastrophic effects, gradually launching various protests and demonstrations.

The Sackler family also gradually couldn't withstand the pressure of public opinion,

In 2018, Purdue Pharma reached an agreement with the Department of Justice to pay a fine of 8.3 billion US dollars, with 2.8 billion in civil settlements, and that chapter was considered closed.

However, the Sacklers were cunning. In 2019, they had Purdue Pharma file for bankruptcy because as long as they were bankrupt, the company could be protected from these fines by bankruptcy protection.

Of course, the Department of Justice wouldn't just sit by after being toyed with by the Sackler family—they immediately started collecting evidence to prosecute most of the family members directly.

In the end, the family couldn't withstand the pressure once again. They proposed a plan to dismiss all charges against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family members.

The plan was to pay a total of 4.5 billion US dollars over nine years.

In exchange, they would not admit to any wrongdoing by the family and would be permanently exempt from any future civil liability related to the opioid crisis. Eventually, 15 states in America compromised and agreed to the proposal.