The former CEO of Retrophin and Turing Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli—famous for raising the price of Daraprim by 5,000 percent—was convicted of three counts of fraud in federal court earlier this month.
According to The New York Times: “[A]fter five days of deliberations, jurors convicted him on three counts of fraud in federal court, and he now faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the first two counts, and up to five years on the final count.”
The convicted charges, as detailed in The New York Times article, include:
- “[S]ecurities fraud in connection with his hedge fund MSMB Capital”
- “[S]ecurities fraud in connection with MSMB Healthcare”
- “[C]onspiracy to commit securities fraud related to the Retrophin stock scheme”
Seeming to embrace the verdict, sources claim Shrkeli said he was “delighted” and that it was “a witch hunt of epic proportions.”
“Later in the afternoon,” according to a The New York Times article, “he was live-streaming once more, sipping beer and joking about prison life from his Manhattan apartment.”
Yesterday, Harper’s Magazine published transcripts of the jury selection from the trial, taking place over three days in June. The jurors were united one thing: Their dislike of Shkreli.
Below are excerpts:
The Court: The purpose of jury selection is to ensure fairness and impartiality in this case. If you think that you could not be fair and impartial, it is your duty to tell me. All right. Juror Number 1.
Juror No. 1: I’m aware of the defendant and I hate him.
. . .
The Court: Juror Number 1 is excused. Juror Number 18.
Juror No. 18: Both of my parents are on prescriptions that have gone up over the past few months, so much that they can’t afford their drugs. I have several friends who have H.I.V. or AIDS who, again, can’t afford the prescription drugs that they were able to afford.
The Court: These charges don’t concern drug pricing. Could you decide this case based only on the evidence —
Juror No. 18: No. No.
The Court: — presented at this trial and put aside anything you might have heard in the media?
Juror No. 18: No. No.
The Court: Sir, we are going to excuse you from this panel. Juror Number 25, come forward, please.
And on and on it goes.
“I’m feeling great, doing great,” Shkreli said in an interview with Fox. Found guilty of three of eight federal criminal charges, Shkreli continues to hold to his confidence, adding that he doesn’t think he’ll have to “forfeit any money.”
(Sources: The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, CNBC, Fox)
Photo credit: AP, Seth Wenig.
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