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Convicted “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli could spend 20 years in prison

Martin Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud at federal district court in Brooklyn, New York Friday after five days of jury deliberations.

“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud at federal district court in Brooklyn, New York, Friday after five days of jury deliberations. He now faces up to 20 years in prison.

Shkreli became “the most hated man in America” — according to one potential juror — when he acquired the rights to a drug often used by AIDS patients, Daraprim, and raised the price of the drug by 5,000 percent in 2015.

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The federal case against him, however, was unrelated to the price-spiking.

Shkreli defrauded investors in two of his hedge funds and one of his pharma companies in 2015 when he lied to investors about the fund’s performance and misappropriated their money, prosecutors argued during the trial. But Shkreli’s attorney said that all of the investors were paid back in full and called the charges “rich person ‘BS.’”

During closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis told jurors that Shkreli knew exactly what he was doing when he cheated the investors.

“It’s time for Martin Shkreli to be held responsible for his choices,” she said. “His choices to lie, deceive. and steal. The last four weeks have exposed Martin Shkreli for who he really is — a conman who stole millions of dollars.”

Shkreli took to Facebook last week midway through closing arguments to rant about the trial.

“My case is a silly witch hunt perpetrated by self-serving prosecutors,” he wrote. “Thankfully my amazing attorney sent them back to junior varsity where they belong. Drain the swamp. Drain the sewer that is the DOJ. MAGA.”