ArthroCare To Pay $30 Mln Fine To Settle DOJ Probe

(RTTNews) - ArthroCare Corp. (ARTC) said Tuesday that it has agreed to pay a $30 million fine pursuant to a two-year deferred prosecution agreement it entered into with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve an ongoing investigation regarding allegations of securities and related fraud committed under a previous management team.

The deferred prosecution agreement was filed today with the United States District Court in the Western District of Texas.

The investigation was first announced in December 2008. The facts underlying the agreement relate specifically to matters self-disclosed by ArthroCare to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the DOJ.

Apart from the fine, ArthroCare has also agreed to maintain a compliance program meeting certain criteria specified in the deferred prosecution agreement.

In conjunction with the deferred prosecution agreement, the DOJ concurrently filed a criminal information concerning a single-count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud.