Shortly after being arrested for securities fraud in relation to his previous businesses, hackers seized control of Shrkeli’s Twitter account, posting a series of tweets ranging from the good, bad and downright effing hilarious. Shkreli stands accused of running a Ponzi-like scheme between 2009 and 2014 at his former hedge fund and a company he headed before Turing.
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Shkreli was charged on Thursday with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy related to his management of hedge fund MSMB Capital Management and biopharmaceutical company Retrophin Inc (RTRX.O).
If convicted, Shkreli – who stepped down as Turing’s CEO Friday – faces 20 years in prison.
Shkreli became “the most hated man on the internet” in September when he acquired the rights to decades-old AIDS drug Daraprim and unapologetically hiked the price from $13.50 to $750 a pill overnight.
Last month, Shkreli bought a majority interest in KaloBios and named himself CEO.
Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, pilloried him for price-gouging, and he was pulled into congressional investigations into drug pricing.
“‘Trying to find anything we could to stop him, ‘ was the attitude of the government”, Shkreli said, flanked by his lawyers in a midtown Manhattan conference room Sunday afternoon.
While being unapologetic about the price of Daraprim, Shkreli added in the interview that Turing, from which he resigned as chief executive after the arrest, might change its approach. The company also investigated and eventually sued Shkreli for possible corrupt trading practices and alleged fake consulting deals with investors who lost money on Retrophin.
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The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office, which filed the charges against Shkreli, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
