Martin Shkreli, CEO Accused Of Price Gouging On HIV Drug, Arrested On Securities Fraud Charges

Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical CEO who gouged the price of a drug used by people with HIV, has been arrested on security fraud charges.

Martin Shkreli Arrested

Shkreli, 32, was arrested in New York City by the FBI early Thursday morning. The federal indictment is related to Shkreli’s time managing the MSMB Capital Management hedge fund, as well as his time heading biopharmaceutical company Retrophin Inc. It is alleged that Shkreli used stock from Retrophin to pay off debts to his hedge fund and MSMB investors.

The federal indictment comes on the heels of a $65 million lawsuit Retrophin filed against Shkreli back in August. In the lawsuit, Shkreli is accused of misusing the company’s funds, offering unauthorized stock and setting up fake agreements.

At the time, Shkreli stated that he was unruffled by the lawsuit. “The $65 million Retrophin wants from me would not dent me,” he said. “I feel great. I’m licking my chops over the suits I’m going to file against them.”

While the allegations against Shkreli that Retrophin has made are damning, they are largely unrelated to why Shkreli is reviled by the public.

After leaving Retrophin, Shkreli founded Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc., and subsequently raised the price of Daraprim – a drug that treats parasitic infections that is often prescribed to HIV/AIDS and cancer patients – from $13.50 a tablet to $750 a tablet. Incidentally, the drug only costs roughly $1 to produce.

Earlier this month, when asked if he would have done anything differently in his handling of the drug, he said, “I probably would have raised the price higher.”