CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and “the Internet’s most hated man,” Martin Shkreli, has been arrested by the FBI on charges of securities fraud.
Shkreli gained notoriety in September after a 5,000 percent price hike of Daraprim – a drug used by sufferers of HIV to treat toxoplasmosis infections. The move was nearly universally condemned by politicians and healthcare groups, and quickly saw Shkreli rise as an online hate-figure.
But in the latest twist to the ongoing saga, the startup drug tycoon was escorted out of the Murray Hill Tower Apartments in New York by FBI agents and law enforcement officers on Thursday, December 17.
The federal investigation does not involve Shkreli’s infamous drug-price row, but relates to activities from his time leading the biotechnology firm Retrophin and his tenure as a manager of the hedge fund at MSMB Capital Management.
According to Reuters, the allegations claim that in 2011 Shkreli fabricated numerous profit reports for the pharmaceutical company Retrophin and misled investors. Over the course of months, this helped draw in over $3 million in investment, the indictment claims. Shkreli allegedly “misappropriated $11 million in Retrophin assets through settlement agreements and sham consulting deals” and also misled investors at MSMB Healthcare Management LP.
Shkreli has denied all allegations.
