In order to settle an investigation by the US Justice Department, the Boston Scientific Group has paid as much as $296 Million. The probe had been into the company's Guidant unit's handling of heart devices, and the settlement has, as reported by the company, led to losses in its third quarter.

Under the settlement terms, in addition to the payment, Guidant will also plead to as many as two criminal misdemeanors for not informing that U. S. Food and Drug Administration that there were some problems with its implantable defibrillators, as has been confirmed by Boston Scientific. The settlement agreed upon is roughly one-fifth of the total cash that Boston Scientific has in hand.

The company has confirmed that because of the payment, its third quarter net loss came to a total of $94 million, or 6 cents a share, in contrast to earnings posted in October of $200 million, or 13 cents. "Guidant is finally being held accountable by the government for withholding information that hurt a lot of people", Hunter Shkolnik, a New York-based lawyer who represented consumers who sued the company.