US fraud trial underway for pharma bad boy Shkreli 29 June 2017

The US trial of , a But his defense attorney Brafman argued that former pharmaceutical executive who gained Shkreli was sidelined from the company not notoriety for jacking up the price of an HIV drug by because of corruption but because he did not fit the 5,000 percent, got underway on Wednesday after image of a corporate CEO. being delayed over difficulties in finding impartial jurors. "You may not like Martin Shkreli. You may have reasons to hate Marin Shkreli, but that is not the Shkreli, the ex-boss of Turing Pharmaceuticals, basis upon which you can convict Martin Shkreli," stands accused of lying to investors and running a he told the jurors. Ponzi-like scheme across multiple firms. Shkreli resigned from Turing shortly after his The charges—which could land him 20 years in indictment in December 2015, after which he was prison if convicted—are unrelated to the price hike released from prison on bond. that brought him widespread public scorn. He earned the label "the most hated man in His trial had been set to begin in federal court in America" after his astronomical price hike on on Monday following the selection of Daraprim from $13.50 a pill to $750. jurors, a process that normally takes a few hours. But many potential jurors were ruled out for having He smirked through a congressional hearing overtly negative opinions about the 34-year-old scrutinizing his actions in early 2016, and has since Shkreli. gone on to earn a reputation for an extravagant, self-publicizing lifestyle. According to the Post, one juror described him as a "snake" while another called His account was suspended in January after him "the face of corporate greed." Such comments he was accused of harassing a journalist, though prompted Shkreli's attorney, Ben Brafman, to he contended he was banned for his support of demand—in vain—that the trial be called off. President .

On Wednesday morning, Judge Kiyo Matsumoto Shortly after Trump's election victory, Shkreli summoned a new group of some 150 potential leaked a one-of-a-kind album by Wu-Tang Clan, jurors after having to excuse dozens Monday and which he bought for $2 million with the stipulation Tuesday, prosecutors said, and the court was able that he doesn't release it commercially for 88 years. to impanel the jurors and alternates needed to proceed. © 2017 AFP The prosecutor in the case, Assistant US Attorney Karthik Srinivasan, told the court in opening arguments that Shkreli told "lies upon lies upon lies" to swindle investors.

He allegedly stole $11 million in stock from his first pharmaceutical company Retrophin to pay off investors who lost money in two of his hedge funds.

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APA citation: US fraud trial underway for pharma bad boy Shkreli (2017, June 29) retrieved 27 September 2021 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-06-fraud-trial-underway-pharma-bad.html

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