Pharma CEO Who Raised Price Of Life-Saving Drug By 5,000% Arrested By FBI For Fraud

Remember Martin Shkreli, the pharma company CEO who price-jacked a 62-year-old vital medicine used for AIDS by 5,000%?

The 32-year-old entrepreneur known as the “world’s most hated man” has been arrested on charges of securities fraud at the Murray Hill Tower Apartments, his residence in New York City.

He was picked up by the FBI in the early hours of Thursday following an investigation into a former hedge fund and drug company he previously headed.

It is alleged Shkreli illegally used stock from the biotechnology firm Retrophin Inc. to pay off debts related to his struggling hedge fund and to pay back angry investors.

Shkreli has denied these allegations.

Retrophin filed a $65million lawsuit against Shkreli in August for misusing company funds, using the funds to bailout the hedge fund and pay off angry investors.

“Through these schemes, Shkreli obtained over $5.6 million in cash and Retrophin shares or the use of Retrophin shares worth over $59 million (at current market prices),” the company said in court papers.

In an interview with Bloomberg Business at the time Retrophin filed the suit, Shkreli called it “baseless and meritless” before adding, “We’re going to win. They still owe me a substantial amount of money.”

Shkreli’s good fortunes have been in steady decline ever since his company Turing Pharmaceutics acquired the drug Daraprim and immediately raised the price of one pill from $13.50 to an eye-watering $750. Shortly afterwards a competitor announced they would produce the pill for just $1, and then it was reported that the Turing made a massive $14.6 million loss in just three months.

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