Merry Christmas Internet! Turing CEO Martin Shkreli Arrested on Securities Fraud
from the goes-around-comes-around dept
In a bit of an early Christmas present for the Internet, Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli was arrested early Thursday morning for securities fraud (less than a day after Bloomberg had a big article about what a stock trading savant he was). According to reports, the Internet's least favorite human being had been under investigation since January for illegally taking stock from a biotechnology company he started in 2011 (Retrophin) to pay off unrelated debts, using a number of shell companies:"...federal prosecutors accused Shkreli of engaging in a complicated shell game after his defunct hedge fund, MSMB Capital Management, lost millions. He is alleged to have made secret payoffs and set up sham consulting arrangements. A New York lawyer, Evan Greebel, was also arrested early Thursday. He's accused of conspiring with Shkreli in part of the scheme."Turing and Shkreli came to fame for raising the price of Daraprim, the preferred treatment for a parasitic condition known as toxoplasmosis, some 5000% (from $13.50 to $750 per pill). After the much maligned CEO then appeared to backpedal and promise a price reduction for the drug, Turing released a highly dodgy press statement right before the Thanksgiving holiday making it abundantly clear that wouldn't be happening. On a positive note, Shkreli's behavior has prompted a much-needed examination of pharmaceutical industry business practices, and specifically the practice of jacking up prices on previously inexpensive generics.
Shkreli's name then remained in the headlines after it was discovered he'd purchased the only copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for the rock-bottom price of $2 million -- months before his rise to "fame." And in a recent interview on the album's purchase, Shkreli tries to vaguely imply that the entire Turing pharmaceutical shit show has been performance art:
"To me, what I’m doing right now in the media,” Shkreli continues, “raising prices, all this shit, believe what you want, but it’s interesting. It gets people talking. At the end of the day, that’s what art is.Well, maybe less like art and more like bad fiction. Bad fiction about a greedy toddler getting what's owed, and just in time for the holiday season.
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Filed Under: arrested, martin shkreli, securities fraud
Companies: retrophin, turing pharmaceutical
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Santa
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May he face the largest possible punishment for his legal crimes, because I fear there's not enough available for the moral crimes of he and his cronies.
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I wouldn't wish any of them to be in prison let alone having to share a cell with him!
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http://www.nme.com/news/wu-tang-clan-0/90387
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He should absolutely be punished for illegal activity, but for his legal yet scummy actions the emphasis should be on fixing the broken system not finding a scapegoat. As long as the framework exists, a new Shkreli can pop up at any time.
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Couldn't happen to a nicer person --er, I mean punkarse spoiled misfit brat. He can guard his WuTang album from his prison cell.
Ho ho ho, PharmaBro!
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The bigger challenge will be to challenge the pharmaceutical companies - and their campaign donations/lobbyist armies - for the same behavior.
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That's not art!
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He'll also go do a couple years in Club Med White Collar prison and walk out and still have millions that he's hidden somewhere or just do it all over again. Maybe start a speaking tour.
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This will allow us to create a better version of the existing framework to ensure all SEC violators are treated fairly and their constitutional rights remain intact.
- SEC Commissioner
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Arrest.. Here is the sad truth
These people should be subjected to a forced life of poverty, but even now the elite are trying to make the laws even more lenient to white collar crimes...
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Merry Christmas Everyone
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Re: Arrest.. Here is the sad truth
Wait...one can have their assets seized and forfeited without being charged with anything yet this guy has been arrested for financial impropriety(ies) and can keep that money (assuming he's convicted)???
And I thought copyright and trademark laws were screwy!
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Re: Re: Arrest.. Here is the sad truth
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Indictment
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Too bad I own the copyright on this art of yours. Now pay me because you are infringing on my right to raise prices.
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No no no no, do it for the sake of art. After all it gets people talking.
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Looking forward to the bad reviews of Shkreli's very own debut starring courtroom performance, and to the sequel - a performance art installation held in a small room with limited tickets available.
Not to prejudge anything of course.
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If there is any poetic justice
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A true Christmas gift would be to get these people their meds.
The next step is to fix the system so that all rarely-needed drugs are available without gouging, but that's a stone too big to fit on Santa's Sleigh, I think.
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Does the Internet have Aids?
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5000% increase
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Re: Re: Re: Arrest.. Here is the sad truth
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Wow...
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Looks like he's a pedo in the making too
Here’s a Video of Pharma Creep Martin Shkreli Flirting With Teens Online
http://gawker.com/here-s-a-video-of-pharma-creep-martin-shkreli-flirting-1748338016
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Re: A true Christmas gift would be to get these people their meds.
There is no patent to take away.
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wow that was quick
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See. This could come true after all.
IANAP so I don't have any idea of the starting capital we'd need to make a non-profit factory that produced the stuff and sold it at exact cost.
Is it even feasible? Are we talking ten million dollars here?
Can it be Kickstarted?
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While I agree with the sentiments, why is it always somehow impossible for people to do both things? It's quite possible for the problems to be fixed while you lock Shkreli up.
You just have to continue to demand action from your government rather than being placated by the sacrificial idiot.
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Nah, he committed massive financial fraud and morally unacceptable robbing from sick people. It's not like he illegally copied an MP3 or anything...
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Re: See. This could come true after all.
Generally speaking, however, the way I understand it is that there are major costs in setting up a production for a drug like this, which is why there was such a captive market in the first place. It's also worth noting that Shkreli only bought the US marketing rights for the drug. It's available elsewhere at reasonable prices as you can see on the Wiki entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrimethamine#Availability_and_price. So, for whatever reason it seems that a US-based production facility is required rather than import from, say, the UK stock being allowed, and Shkreli bought himself a monopoly in the US.
So, while there's an altruistic company producing the pills for the US market, any community organisation is best targeted at fixing the parts of the system that caused this issue in the first place.
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Time Line
Shkreli arrested for mulitple security fraud and ponzi scheme crimes.
2015
Shkreli released on 5 million dollar bond.
2016
Shkreli security fraud ponzi-scheme case goes to court.
2016
Shkreli found guilty on all charges and fined 8 million dollars, (which is the government's 10% cut of his 8 billion dollar security fraud and ponzi-scheme profits), and 200 hours of community service.
2016
Shkreli goes back to life of crime and price gouging, none the worse for wear. Raises prices on 5 other life-saving drugs to replace the government pay-off lost in court case, and to pay off the hundreds of rich screaming suckers he defrauded in his many ponzi schemes.
2016
Shkreli completes 200 hours of community service in 2 days by hiring 10 vagrants to hand out aspirin to other vagrants.
2018
Public short term memory limit reached.
2020
Shkreli wins Nobel Peace Prize for his life-saving pharmaceutical goodmanship. When asked what lesson he learned form the whole situation, the billionaire philanthropist replied;
"Always cut the government in for a piece of the action because they'll take you to court and squeeze their cut out of you anyway if you don't, and that's just embarrassing."
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I mean, really, like anyone expects the DOJ to drop a real poop-bomb on any corporate crook. Shkreli will walk away from this debacle virtually unscathed, unrepentant, and a very rich man.
Guaranteed.
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Re: Time Line
Inflation, you know?
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His YouTube channel
I bet without the scruff on his face he'd look even more like the immature child that he is.
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