Jury convicts Shkreli on three charges
‘Pharmacy Bro’ guilty of fraud, could face 20 years in prison
So-called “Pharmacy Bro” Martin Shkreli was convicted Friday on three of eight criminal charges that he scammed investors, a mixed verdict that left prosecutors and defense lawyers hailing the outcome.
Capping more than 4 1 ⁄ days of 2 deliberations, a Brooklyn federal court jury found the New York City health care entrepreneur guilty of two securities fraud charges and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Shkreli, 34, could face up to 20 years in prison, though defense attorney Benjamin Brafman predicted he would receive a far more lenient sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto if the convictions are upheld on an expected appeal.
The verdict appeared to credit prosecutors’ allegations Shkreli broke securities laws while also accepting defense contentions there was little or no financial damage for the largely wealthy clients who trusted him with their investments. He remains free on bail pending sentencing, which the judge will set later.
Outside the courthouse, Shkreli called the trial “a witch hunt of epic proportions.” But he claimed victory because the jurors found him not guilty on one of the most serious charges, looting a pharmaceutical company he founded and took public, and found limited financial harm to investors.
“Maybe they found one or two broomsticks,” Shkreli said of the panel members. “But at the end of the day we’ve been acquitted of the most serious charges.”
Shkreli still faces civil charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and a separate lawsuit lodged against him by Retrophin, the pharmaceutical company from which he had been accused of stealing stock and money.
The indictment said Shkreli ran a Ponzi-like scheme that ripped off investors in MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare, hedge funds he once ran. He also was accused of improperly repaying burned investors with unauthorized stock grants and payments from Retrophin.