January 7, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
NEW YORK – Martin Shkreli has been dubbed “pharma bro,” “the most hated man in America” and other nicknames that are not fit to be printed, but a new article in the Washington Post presents a softer side to the former bad boy of pharmaceuticals.
Although Shkreli has a looming date with a judge over seven counts of securities fraud, Jacklyn Collier, writing for the Post, highlighted her own date with Shkreli—one where she said she had a “pretty good time.”
The two met over the online dating app Tinder shortly after Shkreli made headlines for raising the price of the toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent when he was the chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals. Shkreli, who often appears boisterous in interviews and on social media, was described as “polite,” “almost meek” and a “tinderfella.” On Twitter, Shkreli once called himself the most eligible bachelor in America.
Their date happened in the fall of 2015, shortly after Shkreli became infamous for the Daraprim price hike, one he later said should have been higher in order to generate more revenue for his stockholders. Part of their conversation did center on the Daraprim issue, with Shkreli arguing that people criticizing him did not understand the pharmaceutical industry and that people who needed the drug, which often includes cancer and AIDS patients, would not go without.
During their date, Shkreli talked about his parents, both janitors, as well as some philanthropic activity he was involved with. She likened him to some of the guys she dated in high school, including the president of the chess club.
The one thing that Collier noted was Shkreli’s decision to purchase a $120 cup of tea (that price is not a typo) at the restaurant. After consuming the high-priced drink, Shkreli claimed he couldn’t tell her if it was any good because he wasn’t “a big tea drinker.” Collier said that was akin to him eating a $100 bill in front of her, especially when she thought of the things that could be done with the money. That tea purchase was also prior to Shkreli’s acquisition of a one-of-a-kind Wu Tang Clan album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” for $2 million.
Since the date, Shkreli continued to make headlines, most notably for being charged with seven counts of securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. According to the indictment against Shkreli, he and his partners, including attorney Evan Greebel, orchestrated three interrelated fraudulent schemes—a scheme to defraud investors and potential investors in MSMB Capital; a scheme to defraud investors and potential investors in MSMB Healthcare; and a scheme to defraud Retrophin , the company Shkreli founded. The indictment said Shkreli’s scheme, which caused his investors to suffer a loss of more than $11 million, was carried out over a five-year period, from 2009 to 2014.
In August, Retrophin sued Shkreli for $65 million over his use of company funds while helming that company. In its lawsuit, Retrophin said Shkreli breached his duty of loyalty to the biopharmaceutical company and he engaged in self-dealing and also seeks disgorgement of money paid to him. Retrophin said Shkreli used company funds for personal use, enriched himself through false consulting contracts and referred to Shkreli as “the paradigm faithless servant” who “is not entitled to compensation or post-separation benefits.” Retrophin alleges Shkreli struck a payoff agreement up to 10 MSMB investors who lost money when the hedge fund collapsed. Shkreli paid some investors through fake consulting agreements and others through unauthorized appropriations of stock and cash, the company alleged in its lawsuit.
The criminal case has been assigned to United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto. If convicted, Shkreli and Greebel each face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Since charges were levied, Shkreli resigned from his CEO position at Turing and was also fired from his CEO spot at KaloBios , a company he acquired majority stake in in November.
Twitter account, Shkreli said he is confident he will prevail against the allegations, which he called baseless. He released a statement saying the Retrophin lawsuit should have been a private civil affair. Regarding the practices of his former hedge fund, Shkreli said the deals he made involved “complex accounting matters” that federal authorities “fail to understand.”
