Karma’s been a real biz-natch to Martin Shkreli this holiday season.
Last Thursday, the 32-year-old price gouger was arrested by the FBI and charged with securities fraud and conspiracy for some alleged shady shenanigans he committed while he was working for the biopharmaceutical company Retrophin. A day later, he was ousted from his job at CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, a company he started himself.
Well, now, the most hated man in America claims he’s the victim of a vast government conspiracy to punish him for raising drug prices and for being an obnoxious Twitter troll.
Related: Pharma-Bro Martin Shkreli Was Just Arrested By The FBI
How about we take this to the next level?
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In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Shkreli insisted that the FBI was going after him because back in August he jacked up the price of Daraprim, a drug used by some HIV patients, by more than 5,000 percent overnight, going from $13.50 to $750 per tablet.
“‘Trying to find anything we could to stop him,’ was the attitude of the government,” Shkreli snarled. “Beating the person up and then trying to find the merits to make up for it — I would have hoped the government wouldn’t take that kind of approach.”
He also claimed that he was being punished for his snarky Twitter account and “because of a social experiment and teasing people over the Internet.”
Related: Pharma-Bro Ousted From His Own Company After FBI Arrest
Ever the victim, Shkreli went on to call the whole situation “a real injustice.”
“Quite frankly, it was not something I expected,” he said of his arrest, “and definitely not something I deserve given the facts.”
He maintains that he will be found not guilty of both the securities fraud and the conspiracy charges, for which he could potentially serve 20 years, if convicted. On Saturday he tweeted:
I am confident I will prevail. The allegations against me are baseless and without merit.
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) December 19, 2015
Cynthia Gilletti
He did this to himself. greed never wins.
Stache
Yeah, right. This is a 3 year investigation into this douchebag. This was a ponzi scheme and time is up.
Tony Chaplinski
good enough for me
Georgie Land
They should ALL be in jail.
David Moraliss Detori Davies
Well it’s quite possibly true. And being such a douche with such a taste for abuse of power constitutes a damn good reason to take you out! I need those drugs asshole! You’re damn lucky it’s not just you and me in a locked room! Trust me, you’d rather the government be after your sad ass!
Jay McMinn
Yes. It’s called the legal system and it finally worked for a change.
Eddie Poole-Boccio
He deals with millions and millions of dollars, but he has the yellowest teeth!
Judy Rae Jackson
Don’t care, hope he goes to jail.
Tracy Pope
For being so smart he’s incredibly stupid. He’ll get sent to prison and his ugliness will be forgotten. Barely a footnote in history.
Alistair Wiseman
Like a good Democrat, he’s learned to play the victim.
1EqualityUSA
and Alistair Wiseman will babble about how this mushroom donated to Bernie Sanders, all the while playing, “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to….you would cry too if it happened to you.” on repeat 1.
Giancarlo85
He is an idiot if he thought he was going to get away with it. The paper trail is solid proof. It is basically similar to DNA evidence. He is just mad he got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Now if we only could nail the Republican party for fraud.
1EqualityUSA
oh hey! Alistair! We must have been writing at the same time. Fancy that.
Giancarlo85
@Alistair Wiseman: Funny how stupid you are. Sheldon Adelson is a gangster who is about to be nailed by the RICO Act I think. He funnels illegal money into your Republican party.
Jeff Rice
Well at least we can finally say they accomplished something worthwhile!
Christopher Hayward
He is a victim of his own sheer greed plus stupidity, period fool. Another useless human ass wipe of used fecal matter.
Jeff Scott
There aren’t enough years in time for our Government to bring down all our douchbags.
alphacentauri
@Giancarlo85: Exactly. Plus he paid way too much for a Wu-Tang album that will eventually probably show up on the internet on youtube.
James Scaramuzza
He is many things but a victim is not one of them.
Jonny Joe
Can I use this creep for target practice?!! 🙂
Kris Anasuya
Seems legit to me.
trell
Dunno & don’t care if the FBI arrested him for the Daraprim price hike, or for the fraud of 3 odd years. At the end of the day, the FBI have probably done Shkreli a favour, by arresting him for his own protection. After all, there’s a very real risk that he could get lynched, especially if he continued to piss people off, then brag about it all on social media.
(At least, if he even attempted to accuse any law enforcement agency of wrongful arrest, that would be one of the lines of defence I would expect to see…and it’s a rock-solid justified defence as well!!)
Martin, you should be THANKING the FBI for stopping you from doing any more stupid crap & digging your grave. If someone didn’t do anything soon, you would have likely been found in an alley with your head shoved up your ass, where it has always metaphorically been.
Now you won’t have to worry about being lynched in the street. All you have to worry about is whether your ringpiece will withstand prison shower time.
trell
@Eddie Poole-Boccio:
I’m sure that there are a few cellmates who will be happy to paint those yellow teeth all white & pearly like….
KM201
Not to defend this skeezy pervert by any means, but it is suspicious to me that the FBI is going down so hard on Martin Shkreli and yet they all but give a slap on the wrist to the major pharmaceutical companies that essentially do the exact same thing. To me, as much as he deserves to go to jail, this seems like a distraction/retribution towards him for doing so openly what other people in his position do more discretely so as not to be caught (price gouging, disregarding human life, advancing capitalism at all costs). Maybe if the FBI wasn’t a bunch of homophobic, Big Brother loving, CISA spying supporting hypocrites, then Shkreli’s belief of a government conspiracy wouldn’t hold such weight.
Chris
Pharma, meet karma.
Glücklich
His lawyer ought to be fired. Now that charges have been filed, Shcrewy is his own worst enemy. Counsel should have forbade him from speaking publicly and shut down his social media.
That said, what a fresh, foamy, smelly shartmark on the tattered, yellowed 46-waist BVD’s of humanity this character is.
NSB2244
If you go to jail just for being a “douche”, that’s good enough for me..what goes around, comes around and you will have to keep on dreaming about Taylor Swift coming to suck your dick..because it will be Bubba instead !
1EqualityUSA
Rape or the threat of rape should not be a built into one’s punishment. It doesn’t edify anyone. It worsens the problem. Jokes about soap-on-a-rope have been around forever and it becomes the expected outcome. This is torture. It is inhumane. The complexities of prison life are mind-bending. Some are too psychologically damaged to ever make a come-back. Subjecting any population to sexual threats will never lead to good.
My ideal prison would be that everybody had a private cell. Sexual violence, nonexistent. The wall of the cell would give access to classes, with tutoring rabbit-holes for self-paced learning. One’s only source of entertainment, starting from grammar school up to college level, classes would be available. For every good grade, points would be earned and added to an account. Documentaries about behavior, an essay turned in, extra points. The only stimuli available would be classes and learning modules. These points would accrue, an in-house currency that could afford the prisoner additional privileges, such as the gym visits, buying Thai food once in a while, films, outdoor time. They would work eight hours daily, starting at 6:00am, which would offset the price of the prison. Lights off after eight, except for the small reading lamp imbedded in the wall. Trades are taught. For time well-served, bonus points would be added to the account. For bad behavior, fines. If fines do not deter the bad behavior, the miscreant would be transferred to the ordinary prison system. On the other end of the spectrum, the model citizens could work their way into what amounts to a studio, within the prison walls, though with fewer restrictions. The system of budgeting (points) would match the outside world as closely as possible.
dwes09
@Alistair Wiseman: The notion that somehow this man’s political contributions (which were refused, though I realize reality is meaningless to you) say anything substantive about either the party, its candidates, is members as a whole or its platform is so adolescent as to be laughable.
Why exactly do you (obviously either an idiot or a heterosexual) come here, a site aimed at gay people, to advocate for a party whose very philosophy encourages the disenfranchisement of homosexuals and other minorities, and runs counter to the bill of rights (a party whose earmarked candidate is a fucking DIOMINIONIST, AND THUS AN ENEMY TO OUR CONSTITUTIONAL SECULAR RULE!)? If you have the capacity to explain that, the gay folks here would really like to know.
dwes09
@KM201: They are actually going after him for running what was apparently a ponzi scheme with his other companies. Essentially the same thing Bernie Madoff did.
Kevin J Desmond
I said it before and I’ll say it again … his mother should have just swallowed the load.
Hussain-TheCanadian
@Alistair Wiseman: Alistair darling; you should stop channeling Lex Luther its not healthy for your mind.
You and this douche should be besties since both of you agree on the fundamentals of republican in-humanism, theft, thuggery, and the subversion of the democratic process through money.
(Blows kiss)
James
Throw the creep in jail.
BigG
The real injustice is awful people like him roam the earth and too many good people are not with us anymore. That’s the true injustice.
Uncle Mark
Make the weasel take his medicine, and then charge him up the ass for it !!
Hussain-TheCanadian
@BigG: I agree – but im happy to see the push-back many many people have made against this creep and the unjustified and out of control greed that he represents.
SteveDenver
He was enjoying the spotlight until it revealed all his wrongdoings.
Uncle Mark
I still have to wonder if Big Pharma helped to accelerate this indictment (by greasing the gov’t/FBI’s gears), as Shkreli’s Daraprim stunt was keeping a spotlight on high drug pricing. Big Pharma and the gov’t that’s owned by them can’t have us peasants informed, organized, and demanding reforms.
Roland Mendiola
If the douche fits
Shadeaux
Girl please! You iz not smart, you iz not kind, and you iz not impoe-tent.
Matthew Farris
Don’t have a problem with that.
Rick Caffey
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joeyty
Most of those who believe in (and are always bringing attention to) U.S. government conspiracies against certain “culprits” won’t want to admit it might be true in this case.
Mack
Of course him breaking the law would have nothing to do with it. The government is just after him because he’s a douche. Maybe by the time he finished his prison term he’ll have use for his own drug.
paul dorian lord fredine
@1EqualityUSA: yeah, give murderers and rapists their own little country clubs. the prison system definitely needs an overhaul but lets not get ridiculous. some people deserve to be punished and what you’re suggesting is rewarding them with a vacation at taxpayer expense. we have those already with minimum security, white-collar criminal getaways and if anyone needs a bread-and-water regimen it’s some of those guys.
Curtispsf
@Alistair Wiseman: A Wise Man you are NOT!
Brian JC Kneeland
Poor guy – steals tons of money from investors and then those who needed medication. How does that make him a victim?
1EqualityUSA
paul dorian lord fredline, would rape be acceptable in your prison scene? Some are too damaged to turn around, true. This setting may not work for everyone. The eight hours of daily work would off-set the cost. If a young punk thrives in this setting, chances are the outside will not be so alien. A car thief doesn’t deserve rough, threatening settings where unholy alliances are formed for protection. Single cells allow the prisoner time to grow into a rewards based system, get an education or learn a trade, and become less of a return risk. That would save money and be more dignified. Punishment is the loss of freedom, not fearing for your life for the duration of the sentence. Some young men get a bad start, even before their frontal lobes are developed. Prison, where groups of men congregate, make monsters. We could improve outcomes with innovation.
joeyty
@Kevin J Desmond: Not TOO old an insult, huh ?
Doughosier
@KM201: He was arrested for screwing rich people. THAT you can’t get away with in America!
Anthony Lower
I think he’s almost right. I think other immoral one percent era where not happy with him being openly corrupt and basically saying “We rich folks do this all the time.” They didn’t like the light of truth being shined so close to them.
Rob Felber
There is a conspiracy, but everyone except him is involved in it.
Victor Barry
Funny thing is, we’d support the government if they were trying to take the douche down.
Amaurys Arias
Good
Ralph Covert
Prison for life!!!
Uncle Mark
@Anthony Lower: Kind of like Leona Helmsley (the “queen of mean”), who was busted for tax evasion shortly after she declared brazenly that “…only the little people pay taxes.”
Sven Êrik's Sön
The gubmint took his baby
Transiteer
He violates Securities regulations. He might as well shoot himself now. You can be an a**hole, a jerk, etc, etc, etc, but if you f*ck around with money and Securities, they will come after you with everything and hunt you down and leave you a milky puddle on the floor. This guys a crook, and he’s going to jail. Don’t drop the soap – we wouldn’t want you to ‘catch’ anything.
Bo Hamrk
@trell: And maybe he can see Kimmy Davis in order to get something done with that greasy/dirty hair he has on his head!
Bo Hamrk
Maybe he needs a “fluffer? He could be one in jail…
queenrosered
I would be totally OK with shoving a funnel in his ass, filling him up with gasoline, then lighting him up like a Roman candle.But that’s just how I roll with regards douche-bags like him. *yawn*
Brad Olson
I’m fine with that!!
trell
@1EqualityUSA:
Even as liberal as I can be, your idea of ‘The Perfect Prison’ is ridiculous.
Prison is supposed to be a deterrent, not some latent extension of the education system for people who don’t quite ‘get’ morality. forcing prisoners to watch classes & rewarding them? – Without any morals in place, all you’d get are smarter criminals. Do you think victims of crime, especially indictable offences, would be reassured that the perp is going to get a series of powerpoint lectures & will come out like some die-cast model citizen?
As to your question to dorian lord fredline, if rape would be acceptable in any prison scene, well the answer is always going to be ‘no’, but then again, rape is not acceptable in general society but it still goes on. So does murder, torture, bullying, discrimination, hierarchies based on fear or priviledge and all kinds of other nasty stuff. Sociology 101: Shit happens. – Same shit will also happen in a more condensed environment like prison, and no amount of wishy washy utopian daydreaming is going to change that.
scotty
martin shkreli…pffft youre just not that important anymore/ever. youre just an ignorant, puffed up smidgen of blowfish shit and you no longer matter.
1EqualityUSA
trell, The punishment is the loss of freedom. The deterrent has failed. Lumping these prisoners together worsens the problem. Working forty hours weekly and having incentives for good grades seems more productive than the alternative. Being bored, watching T.V., working on muscles, and sexually violating those lower in the pecking order doesn’t prepare the prisoner for any other life but a life of crime, upon release. If they are incorrigibly antisocial, then regular prisons with cages will do. The current system is ineffectual and it forces prisoners to make alliances with one another for protection. “Wishy-washy utopian daydreaming” may change this. Shkreli is likely a thief and time will be served, but his crime hardly deserves a sentence that includes sexual violence and a constant fear of other inmates for the duration of his imprisonment. It’s wrong. We can change this. Innovation is coming up with other solutions to a problem.
Juanjo
@Alistair Wiseman: This folks is what is know as a logical fallacy. Alistair has an issue with democrats and has decided to change to topic under discussion to that issue. Pharma Boy’s politics are not an issue at all. His membership in the human race is a real issue.
trell
@1EqualityUSA: @1EqualityUSA:
I agree its wrong (all joking about drpping the soap & cellmates called Bubba aside), but how are you going to change it?
Sorry, but isolating criminals, and forcing them to watch videos for payment of ‘tokens’ may sound utopian, but it sounds like a bad combination of 1984 & a Clockwork Orange. At least in those books, there was an element of social interaction. No-one was isolated.
No-one consciously made the prison system to incorporate sexual dominance. That was an unfortunate by-product, but controlling it by isolating people?? That is a sledgehammer/nut reaction, no matter how it’s dressed up. Even forcing every convict to wear chastity belts is a more humane solution to the problem of male rape in prison!
And regardless of all of the above, prison is supposed to be a deterrant. Providing a safe, cosy environment where someone can learn (if they want to) is not a deterrant. It’s a free school at the taxpayer’s expense. A criminal will see it as an easy number, and there is no incentive to try not to come back again.
The current system is not perfect, and yes, I don’t agree with the idea of prisoners using sexual dominance on others, but that’s the way it is. There isn’t a better way that balances rehabilitation with punishment that doesn’t involve a lobotomy.
1EqualityUSA
trell, It is a bit much, but were it to produce different results, then it is worth pondering. The place to start is removing any threat of sexual violence. It’s inhumane and cruel and beneath us. If this is done, our entire society is edified, especially the free.
Aromaeus
If the government’s job was the go after douchebags then it would implode on itself.
1EqualityUSA
Aromaeus, two points!