Martin Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical executive who has been publicly excoriated for sharply increasing the price of a lifesaving HIV drug and derisively referred to as the "Pharma Bro," was sentenced on Friday to seven years in prison for defrauding investors in two failed hedge funds and a drug company he once ran. Shkreli, who gained notoriety for inflating the price of a life-saving drug, had faced up to 45 years behind bars for mismanaging money at his hedge funds, according to the judge. In August of 2017, Shkreli was convicted on three of the eight charges brought against him by federal prosecutors, which included securities fraud and conspiracy to commit both securities fraud and wire fraud. Shkreli called the charges “a witch hunt of epic proportions.”

Shkreli, the former Chief Executive Officer of Retrophin, is most famous for his role as founder and CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. Despite these antics, Shkreli’s defense attorneys insisted that he was “a good person” who “cannot always control awkward, inappropriate behaviors.” Prosecutors said it was “absurd” to cast Shkreli as a misunderstood child genius. I took down Martin Shkreli with my disgraceful and shameful actions.”

At his trial last year, Shkreli often wore a smirk and was chastised by the judge for his behavior, including for an incident in which he told reporters that the prosecutors on the case were “junior varsity.” He also ignored the advice of his lawyer by commenting on the trial via social media and YouTube. At Friday's hearing, Shkreli's lawyer, Ben Brafman, made his case for a lighter sentence, expressing his frustration with some of the things Shkreli had said, saying there were times he wanted to "punch him in the face." A later offer to pay $5,000 for a strand of Hillary Clinton's hair — follicle included — after his conviction when he was out on bail, did nothing to rehabilitate his image. On Monday, the judge ordered Shkreli to forfeit $7.36 million in assets, which could include Shkreli's $5 million E-Trade account, stake in the pharmaceutical company Vyera Pharmaceuticals (formerly Turing Pharmaceuticals), the Wu-Tang Clan album Shkreli purchased in 2015, a Lil Wayne album, an enigma machine, and a Picasso painting. ___

 

11:05 a.m.

 

"Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) is in the courtroom to be sentenced on a securities fraud conviction. The price increase for the generic drug, which is used by HIV patients to ward off parasitic infections, won derision from patients, physicians, and many executives at other pharmaceutical companies. "The one person to blame for me being here today is me," a choked-up Shkreli told a judge before she imposed the prison term in Brooklyn, New York, federal court.
A Brooklyn federal court sentences Martin Shkreli to seven years in prison for securities fraud in his hedge fund and pharmaceutical companies.