Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical CEO who became known as “the most hated man on the Internet” after hiking up the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000%, has been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of fraud.
Shkreli, who shocked the world after purchasing the rights to Daraprim in order to considerably raise its price, was held in an apartment in midtown Manhattan before being escorted to a car by FBI agents, according to a report from Bloomberg.
He is reportedly set to be charged with illegally using Retrophin assets in order to pay off his his debts after his now-defunct hedge fund, MSMB Capital Management, lost millions of dollars. According to reports, it is said that conducted secret payoffs and “set up sham consulting arrangements,” with him paying up to 10 MSMB investors using fake consulting agreements and others through illegal appropriations of stocks and cash. Shkreli and Retrophin’s lawyers have yet to respond to the charges.
Along with raising the price of Daraprim, effectively ensuring that many suffering from the deadly infection toxoplasmosis would not be able to afford it, Shkreli recently made his way into the news by revealing that he had purchased the lone existing copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s $2 million dollar album. Wu-Tang member RZA suggested that the rap group wasn’t happy that Shkreli had been the LP’s buyer, referring to the LP’s odd contract clause in which actor Bill Murray was given the option to “steal” it away from its buyer, tweeting: “We’re really getting the urge to call Bill Murray.”
Authorities have not confirmed when Shkreli will be facing trial, though Shkreli could be facing a prison sentence of 10 year or more according to US law.
