Shkreli Charged With Committing a "Series of Frauds"
Jury selection started for the trial of Martin Shkreli earlier today. Shkreli, who is often referred to as the "most hated man in America", is facing a number of securities fraud charges. The SEC has alleged that Shkreli engaged in "widespread fraudulent conduct" during his time at Retrophin and his MSMB Capital Management and MSMB Healthcare hedge funds.
Essentially, prosecutors are alleging that Shkreli lied to his hedge fund investors about their returns and then used Retrophin resources in order to make his hedge fund investors whole. Prosecutors allege that Shkreli issued cash and stock to his hedge fund investors from Retrophin and disguised these payments as consulting fees. It is also alleged that Shkreli severely misrepresented the returns that his hedge funds were reportedly generating.
Shkreli has said that he believes that the jury will find him not guilty within just a few hours.
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Shkreli became a household name after Turing Pharmaceuticals, another one of the companies that he started, raised the price of Daraprim (a drug that treats toxoplasmosis and cystoisosporiasis) by 5,000%. The move drew condemnation from all corners of the world, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly bashing Shkreli for the increase.
Shkreli's unrepentant nature earned him even more scorn, which resulted in many people cheering when he was arrested on multiple securities fraud charges.
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Shkreli has stayed very active on social media while awaiting trial, despite the wishes of his team of lawyers.
Whether he is bashing journalists or hosting Youtube streams, Shkreli has elected to remain in the spotlight at a time when most others would likely retreat into the shadows.
From the beginning, Shkreli has claimed that he has done nothing wrong and that raising drug prices is just part of capitalism and that for-profit insurance companies are who he is targeting with the price increases.
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The government would love to take down Shkreli. Is jail time awaiting the "Pharma Bro"? Shkreli's trial is expected to conclude within six weeks.
Filed under: General Knowledge
