US court finds ‘Pharma Bro’ Shkreli guilty of securities fraud

Martin Shkreli, the eccentric former pharmaceutical CEO notorious for a price-gouging scandal and for his snide “Pharma Bro” persona on social media, was convicted on Friday on federal charges he deceived investors in a pair of failed hedge funds.

A Brooklyn jury deliberated five days before finding Shkreli guilty on three of eight counts. He had been charged with securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

“This was a witch hunt of epic proportions,” a smiling Shkreli, flanked by his lawyers, told reporters outside the Brooklyn, New York, courthouse following the verdict. “Maybe they found one or two broomsticks but at the end of the day we’ve been acquitted of the most important charges in this case.”

Prosecutors had accused Shkreli of repeatedly misleading investors about what he was doing with their money. Mostly, he was blowing it with horrible stock picks, forcing him to cook up a scheme to recover millions in losses, they said.

Shkreli, 34, told “lies upon lies,” including claiming he had US$40 million in one of his funds at a time when it only had about US$300 in the bank, Assistant US Attorney Alixandra Smith said in closing arguments. The trial “has exposed Martin Shkreli for who he really is, a con man who stole millions,” added another prosecutor, Jacquelyn Kasulis.