‘Pharma Bro’ Shkreli sentenced to seven years in prison

Martin Shkreli has been sentenced by Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to seven years in prison for defrauding investors.

The notorious pharma exec reportedly wept in court before hearing the sentence, which was handed out on Friday 9 March. Although this represents a substantially longer time than Shkreli’s lawyers had asked for (12–18 months) it was also much less than what the prosecution had demanded — 15 years.

Shkreli apologised to the judge and his investors during his sentencing, which was in stark contrast to his behaviour after his initial arrest in 2015 when he took to social media in a high-profile trolling campaign of his critics. As reported by Time: “I want the people who came here today to support me to understand one thing, the only person to blame for me being here today is me… I am terribly sorry I lost your trust. You deserve far better,” Shkreli said.

However, the sentencing Shkreli received was not about his online antics nor his price-hiking of a generic drug by 5,000% (the original source of his infamy) but about his fraudulent activities. “This case is not about Mr Shkreli’s self-cultivated public persona… nor his controversial statements about politics or culture,” said Judge Matsumoto (as reported in Time).