Looks like haters of Martin Shkreli can finally rejoice. The loathed Turing Pharmaceuticals executive, who sparked Internet outrage when he raised the price of a potentially life-saving HIV medication by 5,000% earlier this year, has been arrested for securities fraud. The charges relate to his previous hedge fund, Bloomberg reports.
After Shkreli’s now-defunct hedge fund MSMB Capital Management lost millions of dollars, he allegedly paid off the debts by illegally taking stock from Retrophin Inc., a biotech firm he started in 2011. He was later ousted from his position as CEO of the company and sued by its board, according to prosecutors. Shkreli, 32, was arrested early this morning along with New York lawyer, Evan Greebel, who is accused of conspiring with Shkreli on the scheme.
Shkreli has been the Internet’s public enemy number one ever since September when he hiked the price of Daraprim, a drug that treated deadly parasitic infections, from $13.50 to more than $750 per pill. In response to the social media backlash, he later promised to reduce the price. “It makes sense to lower the price in response to the anger that was felt by people,” said Shkreli in December.
But according to a Turing press release from earlier this month, he did not hold true to his word. Since his arrest this week, Shkreli has been unavailable for comment.
