Law enforcement officials said Rhode Island will receive the bulk of the $500 million that Google Inc. forfeited as a result of allowing illicit online advertisements by so-called rogue Internet pharmacies into its system.
The forfeiture has been approved for distribution, with roughly $330 million going to nine local, state and federal agencies in Rhode Island, according to Peter Neronha, who is U.S. Attorney for the state.
Of that amount, $120 million will go to Providence police departments, $45 million will go to state police and $60 million will go to the office of the state's attorney general, Mr. Neronha's office said in a statement.
Mr. Neronha said in the statement the five Rhode Island state and local agencies receiving funds contributed investigators to the legal team he led as it probed Google in the matter.
The remaining $170 million of Google's forfeiture not going to Rhode Island will be "deposited into the Department of Justice's Assets Forfeiture Fund," according to the statement.
A Google spokeswoman said in a statement, "As we've said, we take responsibility for our actions. With hindsight, we shouldn't have allowed these ads on Google in the first place."
Google disclosed the $500 million forfeiture last year. The company acknowledged that it had improperly helped online pharmacies allegedly based in Canada to target U.S. customers with advertising.
Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@dowjones.com
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