NEW YORK — Former drug company executive Martin Shkreli was convicted of fraud by jurors in a U.S. court in Brooklyn on Friday, after a highly publicized, monthlong trial.

Federal prosecutors had accused the 34-year-old of defrauding investors in his hedge funds and stealing from his old drug company, Retrophin Inc, to pay them back.

Shkreli was convicted on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. He was found not guilty on five other counts. </s> The attorney for convicted fraudster Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) says his client is doing "fine" after he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

 

Ben Brafman had asked the judge for a sentence of 18 months or less because his investors in two failed hedge funds got all of their money back. Prosecutors recommended 15 years.

 

U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto (KEE'-yoh maht-soo-MOH'-toh) says his sentence did not reflect his antics outside the courtroom, like jacking up the cost of a lifesaving HIV drug.

 

But she did say his crimes were serious and he needed to be held accountable.

 

Brafman says the sentence could have been worse. But he's upset his client will be behind bars for so long. Shkreli's family didn't comment.

 

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2 p.m.

 

The self-promoting "Pharma Bro" vilified for jacking up the price of a lifesaving drug has been sentenced to prison for securities fraud.

 

Pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison by U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto (KEE'-yoh maht-soo-MOH'-toh) after he was convicted last year of lying to investors in two failed hedge funds.

 

Shkreli cried as he told the judge that he made many mistakes and he apologized to investors.

 

His attorney argued that he deserved 18 months or less and shouldn't be punished for being outspoken. The judge says she did not take his outside actions into account.

 

Shkreli had been free on bail until a judge jailed him for offering a $5,000 bounty to anyone who could get a lock of Hillary Clinton's hair last year.

 

He remains in custody.

 

___

 

12:30 p.m.

 

"Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli is crying as he tells a judge preparing to sentence him that he made many mistakes.

 

The pharmaceutical executive apologized to investors he defrauded in a securities fraud conviction.

 

He says he is the only person to blame and not the media, government, nor his business partners. He says he hopes to get a chance to make amends and learn from his mistakes.

 

Prosecutors want him sentenced to 15 years in prison, while his defense attorney argued he only deserves 18 months because his investors in two failed hedge funds got their money back.

 

___

 

12:20 p.m.

 

A federal prosecutor says "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) should be sentenced to 15 years, not because he is "the most hated man in America," but because he's a criminal convicted of serious fraud.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said Friday that the judge must also consider the history and characteristics of the defendant. She says the pharmaceutical CEO has "no respect whatsoever" for the law or the court proceedings.

 

Shkreli became notorious for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and trolling critics online. But he was convicted in a separate securities fraud case.

 

His lawyers asked for 18 months because his investors in two failed hedge funds got all of their money back.

 

U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto (KEE'-yoh maht-soo-MOH'-toh) will decide Friday.

 

___

 

11:30 a.m.

 

A defense lawyer for "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) says his client shouldn't be sentenced to a more severe punishment because he is outspoken.

 

Attorney Benjamin Brafman is speaking at the sentencing Friday for the pharmaceutical company CEO on a securities fraud conviction.

 

Shkreli became notorious for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and trolling critics online.

 

Brafman says that sometimes he wants to hug Shkreli, and sometimes he wants to punch him in the face. He says his client has made his job more difficult by his online outbursts, but he shouldn't be punished for that.

 

U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto (KEE'-yoh maht-soo-MOH'-toh) is weighing Brafman's request to sentence him to 18 months, or at least 15 years as prosecutors have requested.

 

___

 

11:05 a.m.

 

"Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) is in the courtroom to be sentenced on a securities fraud conviction.

 

A judge must weigh whether the pharmaceutical company CEO is a manipulator who conned wealthy investors or a misunderstood eccentric who made those same investors even wealthier.

 

The defense wants the judge to give Shkreli a sentence of 18 months or less because his investors in two failed hedge funds got all of their money back. Prosecutors say he deserves at least 15 years behind bars for lying to them.

 

Shkreli became notorious for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and trolling critics on the internet with his snarky persona.

 

___

 

12:03 a.m.

 

Is "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) a manipulator who conned wealthy investors or a misunderstood eccentric who made those same investors even wealthier?

 

A federal judge in Brooklyn will have to weigh the conflicting portrayals of the former pharmaceutical company CEO on Friday at his sentencing on a securities fraud conviction.

 

The stakes are high: The defense wants the judge to give Shkreli a sentence of 18 months or less because his investors in two failed hedge funds got all of their money back. Prosecutors say he deserves at least 15 years behind bars for lying to them.

 

Shkreli became notorious for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and trolling critics on the internet with his snarky "Pharma Bro" persona. </s> “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli Gets Seven Years for Securities Fraud

Outspoken former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli will serve seven years in prison, a sentence handed down Friday following securities fraud convictions related to two hedge funds and a drug company that he once ran.

The judge in the case said Shkreli will receive credit for time served since September, when his bail was revoked, Bloomberg reported. The average prison sentence for those convicted of securities and investment fraud in fiscal 2016, the most recent year available, was four years, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Shkreli is widely known as the former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, the company that, in 2015, hiked the price of pyrimethamine (Daraprim) from $13.50 to $750 a pill. 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. But Shkreli staunchly defended the price in his statements to the media and on his once vibrant Twitter account, cultivating a “pharma bro” persona that was brash and outspoken.

Friday’s sentencing is related to Shkreli’s behavior from 2009 to 2014—prior to his role at Turing. The government charged Shkreli with conspiracy for bilking investors in his hedge funds, MSMB Capital Management and MSMB Healthcare, as well as his former biotech company Retrophin. Last August, a jury found Shkreli guilty on three of eight counts of fraud. Two counts involve securities fraud and the third count was conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of at least 15 years. But Shkreli’s attorneys had asked the judge for 12 to 15 months, pointing to his efforts to help patients by developing drugs that treat rare diseases, according to CNBC. Bloomberg reported that Shkreli wept as he addressed U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto during the sentencing hearing, and he asked for forgiveness from the investors he defrauded.

“I am terribly sorry I lost your trust,” he said, according to Bloomberg. “You deserved far better.”

Government attorneys said their sentencing recommendation was based on the conviction, the financial loss, and the repetition of the crimes. Prosecutor Jacquelyn Kasulis told Matsumoto that Shkreli’s behavior was “four different fraud schemes over five years,” according to Bloomberg.

In addition to serving time, Shkreli also owes money. Last week, Matsumoto ordered that Shkreli pay $7.36 million—an amount equal to what he made from his fraud. Shkreli can pay that amount with a check. But if he doesn’t have enough money, the court order says he can forfeit some of his assets, including $5 million in cash in an E*Trade brokerage account, albums by the Wu-Tang Clan and Lil Wayne, and a Picasso painting. </s> Martin Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy Friday.

The verdict came on the fifth day of deliberations in Brooklyn federal court. Shkreli was convicted of two counts of securities fraud and a single count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He was acquitted of five other criminal charges.

Federal prosecutors said Shkreli mismanaged money at the investment funds Elea Capital, MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare, as well as while he was CEO of Retrophin, a pharmaceutical company he founded in 2011.

They argued that he lied to investors at MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare about how well the funds were doing, and that he used money from Retrophin as a piggy bank to pay off MSMB investors, and to cover personal loans and other debts.

Shkreli drew national scorn two years ago when, as the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, he unapologetically raised the price of an AIDS drug from $13.50 per pill to $750. That episode is unrelated to the fraud case. </s> Martin Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday for defrauding investors out of more than $10 million.

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. He'll get six months credit for time served in a Brooklyn federal jail.

He was convicted on August 5, 2017 of securities fraud and conspiracy in what prosecutors said amounted to a Ponzi scheme. Shkreli called the charges "a witch hunt of epic proportions."

During his sentencing on Friday in Brooklyn federal court, Shkreli, 34, broke into tears and pleaded with the judge for leniency as she passed him a box of tissues.

"I look back and I'm embarrassed and ashamed," he told the court. "I am terribly sorry," he said to his investors, "I lost your trust."

"There's no conspiracy to take down Martin Shkreli. I took down Martin Shkreli with my disgraceful and shameful actions."

He described the time he's spent in jail as a"heartbreaking experience."

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.

Shkreli's lawyer Ben Brafman, told reporters on Friday he thought the prison sentence was too severe.

"I'm disappointed that the sentence wasn't less than seven years. But Martin's fine and he will be fine," he said.

Prior to the sentencing, Brafman defended his client as an eccentric and generous genius who's been teaching math to his fellow prisoners and who bought diapers for the girlfriend of a prisoner who just had babies. Brafman said that sometimes he wanted to give him a hug, but admitted that he could also be so aggravating "there are times when I want to punch him in the face."

Prosecutors painted a less flattering picture. "He doesn't think that he did anything wrong because he thinks he's different," said prosecutor Jacquelyn Kasulis during the sentencing. "He thinks he's better than everybody else and the rules don't apply to him."

Prosecutors said that between 2009 and 2014, Shkreli lied to investors at MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare about how well the funds were doing, and that while he was CEO of Retrophin, (RTRX) he used the pharmaceutical company as a piggy bank to pay off MSMB investors and to cover personal loans and other debts.

After his conviction, he was released on $5 million bail.

In September, Judge Kiyo Matsumoto revoked his bail after Shkreli took to social media to offer $5,000 to anyone would bring him a strand of Hillary Clinton's hair.

Earlier this week, Matsumoto ordered Shkreli to forfeit about $7.4 million in assets, including a one-of-a-kind Wu Tang Clan album. He was also ordered to hand over a Picasso, and an album called "Tha Carter V" by Lil Wayne. At the sentencing, the judge also fined him $75,000. His net worth is still about $20 million, after subtracting the forfeiture and the fine, and also the taxes and legal fees he owes.

His fraud conviction had nothing to do with the controversy that made him famous. While he was chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals in 2015, he jacked up the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim, a treatment for HIV patients, from $13.50 a pill to $750.

The price hike sparked a public backlash that landed him on Capitol Hill, testifying about drug prices. He sneered through the proceeding and pleaded the Fifth Amendment.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons will decide at which federal prison Shkreli will serve his sentence. </s> A federal jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., has convicted former pharmaceutical executive and "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli of securities fraud.

He was found guilty Friday on three counts — two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud — out of a total of eight counts. Shkreli is best known for increasing the price of a life-saving drug for people with AIDS by 5,000 percent, from $13.50 to $750 per pill, when he was head of Turing Pharmaceuticals.

Shkreli has not been sentenced and faces up to 20 years in prison, as WSHU's Charles Lane tells our Newscast unit. Still, he declared victory when he was acquitted of what he termed the most "important charges."

"After the verdict was read, Shkreli and his lawyer said they were pleased and anticipated a light sentencing with minimal fines and no jail time," Lane reported. "During the trial, Shkreli openly mocked prosecutors and ultimately never took the stand in his defense."

As NPR's Laurel Wamsley has written about the case:



"Before he made headlines as the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Shkreli founded a pharmaceutical company, Retrophin, and a pair of hedge funds, MSMB Capital Management and MSMB Healthcare. Prosecutors say he committed a series of frauds while managing the funds between October 2009 and March 2014. "The SEC's complaint alleges 'widespread fraudulent conduct' by Shkreli — a series of misrepresentations and omissions, and of taking money from one fund to cover claims against the other. According to the complaint, he also issued stock and made cash payments from Retrophin (disguised as payments for consulting services) to disgruntled investors in the hedge funds who were threatening to sue. "Prosecutors say Shkreli misled investors about the size and performance of MSMB Capital Management, claiming that its returns were '+35.77% since inception' — when the fund had actually lost 18 percent. In another instance, he claimed the fund had $35 million in assets, when in fact it had less than $1,000 in assets."



Shkreli attorney Ben Brafman told reporters after the verdict that he believed the conspiracy to commit wire fraud — which Shrekli was acquitted of — was the heart of the case. "It was the claim that Martin robbed money from his own company to pay back people, and that theory was soundly rejected."

He added that Shkreli's image issues have posed a challenge to the case:



"Martin is a brilliant young man, but sometimes people skills don't translate well. So we will have some good discussions, but at the end of the day, you know Martin, I think, has more than held his own in this case and despite the issues that travel with Martin, I think we're standing here smiling even though it wasn't a clean sweep that we would have preferred."



As Brafman appeared to question Shkreli's "people skills," The Associated Press reported that the former executive "smiled and cocked his head quizzically in mock confusion."

During his time in the limelight, Shkreli has appeared to embrace the role of villain. For example, as NPR's Camila Domonoske reported, he purchased the sole copy of the Wu-Tang Clan's double album — then said he would never listen to it. </s> 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.

It's less than half of the 15 years prosecutors were seeking, but it far exceeds the minimum 18-month sentence Shkreli's attorneys were hoping to secure for their client, whose 35th birthday is later this month.

Shkreli was found guilty on two counts of securities fraud for duping hedge fund investors in MSMB Capital Management and MSMB Healthcare about the financial performance of the two companies that he operated. And he was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud for manipulating stock shares of Retrophin, a pharmaceutical company he created.

U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto also ruled Monday that Shkreli must forfeit the money he made from his fraud — nearly $7.4 million — and pay a $75,000 fine. And, as NPR's Colin Dwyer reported, if Shkreli can't come up with the funds to pay back the government, he'll have to hand over a few prized possessions, including a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album and a Picasso painting.

Shkreli, who has often appeared defiant both in the courtroom and in interviews, made a sob-filled plea for leniency during the 2 1/2-hour proceedings leading up to Matsumoto's decision, according to CNBC.

" '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. 'Not the government. There is no conspiracy to take down Martin Shkreli.' " 'I took down Martin Shkreli with my disgraceful and shameful actions.' " 'This is my fault. I am no victim here,' Shkreli said, before breaking down into tears as he promised not to let his lawyer Benjamin Brafman down in his efforts to contribute to society. " 'Do not feel bad for me,' Shkreli told a packed courtroom that included many of his supporters and family members. "And he had a message for the investors he duped: 'I am terribly sorry I lost your trust ... You deserve far better.' "

Shkreli emerged as a public villain in 2015 after raising the price of Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent, from $13.50 to $750 per pill as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. 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. In fact, Matsumoto sent him back to jail for the stunt that Shkreli later claimed was a joke.

In a letter to the judge dated Feb. 26, Shkreli wrote:

Shkreli has been held in a federal prison in Brooklyn, N.Y., for six months. He said being behind bars is "both the most frightening experience of my life but also an opportunity for me to see a side of the world seldom seen or discussed." </s> Martin Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday for defrauding investors out of more than $10 million.

Shkreli, who gained notoriety for inflating the price of a life-saving drug, had faced up to 20 years behind bars for mismanaging money at his hedge funds.

He was convicted on August 5, 2017 of securities fraud and conspiracy in what prosecutors said amounted to a Ponzi scheme. Shkreli called the charges “a witch hunt of epic proportions.”

During his sentencing on Friday in Brooklyn federal court, Shkreli, 34, broke into tears and pleaded with the judge for leniency.

“I look back and I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” he told the court. “I am terribly sorry,” he said to his investors, “I lost your trust.”

“There’s no conspiracy to take down Martin Shkreli. 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.

Shkreli’s lawyer Ben Brafman, told reporters on Friday he thought the prison sentence was too severe.

“I’m disappointed that the sentence wasn’t less than seven years. But Martin’s fine and he will be fine,” he said.

Prosecutors said that between 2009 and 2014, Shkreli lied to investors at MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare about how well the funds were doing, and that while he was CEO of Retrophin, he used the pharmaceutical company as a piggy bank to pay off MSMB investors and to cover personal loans and other debts.

After his conviction, he was released on $5 million bail.

In September, Judge Kiyo Matsumoto revoked his bail after Shkreli took to social media to offer $5,000 to anyone would bring him a strand of Hillary Clinton’s hair.

Earlier this week, Matsumoto ordered Shkreli to forfeit about $7.4 million in assets, including a one-of-a-kind Wu Tang Clan album. He was also ordered to hand over a Picasso, and an album called “Tha Carter V” by Lil Wayne.

His fraud conviction had nothing to do with the controversy that made him famous. While he was chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals in 2015, he jacked up the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim, a treatment for HIV patients, from $13.50 a pill to $750.

The price hike sparked a public backlash that landed him on Capitol Hill, testifying about drug prices. He sneered through the proceeding and pleaded the Fifth Amendment.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons will decide at which federal prison Shkreli will serve his sentence. </s> NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. jury convicted Martin Shkreli, the brash former drug company and hedge fund executive, on Friday of defrauding investors in hedge funds he ran years before he gained fame for jacking up the price of a drug.

Jurors in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn found Shkreli guilty of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. But they acquitted him of five conspiracy counts, including conspiracy to steal from his old drug company, Retrophin Inc (RTRX.O).

Securities fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, though defendants in such cases rarely receive the maximum sentence.

Federal prosecutors had accused the 34-year-old New Yorker of lying to investors in the funds and looting Retrophin to pay them back.

Immediately after the verdict, Shkreli appeared somewhat shaken. But when he emerged from the courthouse later to talk to reporters, he was happy and confident.

He portrayed the verdict, which came on the fifth day of deliberations after a monthlong trial, as a victory.

“This was a witch hunt of epic proportions, and maybe they found one or two broomsticks, but at the end of the day, we’ve been acquitted of the most important charges,” he told reporters.

Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget Rohde, whose office prosecuted the case, praised the jury’s decision.

“Justice was served,” she said after the verdict.

Former drug company executive Martin Shkreli exits U.S. District Court after being convicted of securities fraud, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Before going on trial, Shkreli had been best known for raising the price of anti-infection drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent in 2015 as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals.

That increase sparked outrage from U.S. lawmakers and patients - and earned Shkreli the nickname “Pharma bro.”

Shkreli emphasized the jury’s finding that he did not conspire to steal from Retrophin.

“Count seven was the government’s attempt to theorize that I robbed Peter to pay Paul, and the jury has spoken conclusively that Retrophin was not defrauded in this case,” Shkreli told reporters.

Shkreli’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, citing his client’s acquittal on the Retrophin charge, said Shkreli might avoid prison time or at least receive a “much, much lower” sentence than that contemplated by the government.

Prosecutors said that, starting around 2009, Shkreli lied to investors in his hedge funds, MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare, concealing trading losses behind fake account statements.

Prosecutors said Shkreli eventually paid investors back with stock or cash from Retrophin by having them sign settlement or consulting agreements with the company. Those agreements were the basis for prosecutors’ claim that Shkreli conspired to steal from Retrophin.

During his closing arguments, Brafman urged jurors to see his client not as a fraudster but as an eccentric genius determined to find cures for rare diseases.

Brafman said that Shkreli’s statements to investors were made in good faith. He also emphasized that none of Shkreli’s investors lost money, a rarity in a securities fraud case.

Slideshow (5 Images)

John Zach, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defense lawyer at the law firm of Boies Schiller Flexner, said the fact that investors did not lose money could help Shkreli get a lighter sentence.

Christopher LaVigne, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defense lawyer at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling, said it was notable that prosecutors secured a conviction without investor losses, and said it could encourage more such cases in the future.

“A case like this, I think it emboldens them,” he said.
A Brooklyn federal court sentences Martin Shkreli to seven years in prison for securities fraud in his hedge fund and pharmaceutical companies.