EBay to pay $59 million to settle US charges over illegal pill-making machines

FILE PHOTO: The eBay logo is pictured on a phone screen in this photo illustration in New York, U.S., July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) -EBay agreed to pay $59 million and upgrade compliance measures to resolve U.S. Department of Justice allegations it didn't try hard enough to stop criminals from buying devices for making counterfeit drugs, including pills laced with fentanyl.

Wednesday's settlement arose from eBay's alleged inadequate monitoring since October 2015 of thousands of pill presses and encapsulating machines sold through its website, including presses capable of producing thousands of pills an hour.