“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli — who gained notoriety for jacking up the price of a life-saving cancer drug in 2015 — recently begged a judge for leniency in his security fraud case. Well, the judge felt otherwise, and although Shkreli faced possible decades behind bars, he’s still undoubtedly unhappy with the sentence that dropped today. CNBC reports that Shkreli received seven years in prison, and the occasion presented high drama in a Manhattan court room.
The Chicago Tribune reveals that Shkreli openly wept while addressing U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto and claiming that he’d apologized for defrauding his investors while running two hedge funds. Although no cameras were present in the court room, this appears to be a stunning reversal in attitude for one of the universe’s proudest trolls. Behold the sudden humility:
He said he is the only person to blame — not the media, not the government, nor his business partners — and that he hopes to make amends and learn from his mistakes.
“I’m not the same person I was. I know right from wrong. I know what it means to tell the truth and what it means to lie,” he said, before apologizing to his investors. “I am terribly sorry I lost your trust. You deserve far better.”
The sentencing also follows a statement from Shkreli’s attorney, Ben Brafman, who admitted that he alternated between wanting to “hug” Shkreli and “punch him in the face,” and this legal comeuppance arrives after Shkreli was ordered to forfeit his rare Wu-Tang Clan album, so yes, he’s having a terrible day. This means seven years of no livestreaming and no ability to harass female journalists while he’s behind bars. It’s probably the first lifetime dose of harsh reality for Shkreli, but surely, we haven’t heard the last of his antics.
(Via CNBC, Chicago Tribune & Bloomberg)