Conversation so far:
What happened in 2012?
As of November 14, 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 32 deaths and that 438 people have been sickened.
what were they sickened by?
the meningitis outbreak.
What was the cause of the outbreak?
An investigation determined that the New England Compounding Center(NECC) was the source of the contaminated product.
how did they control it?
The FDA knew of severe quality control violations at NEC.
what were some of the violations?
threatened NECC if it did not comply with regulations.

Question: how did they threaten the NECC?
Self-contained rewrite: how did the FDA threaten the NECC?