As Ever, Martin Shkreli Gets The Spotlight All To Himself

Elizabeth Holmes’ fraud trial is drawing to its close, and while Ghislaine Maxwell’s for allegedly serving as Jeffrey Epstein’s pedo-pimp is just getting under way, it, too, will end. Luckily for those whose appetite for sordid and salacious jurisprudence is insatiable, the good people at the Federal Trade Commission decided last year to gift the world a second Martin Shkreli trial. Arguably the world’s most loathsome individual, the Pharma bro will have to answer allegations that in addition to all of the fraud he did, he also illegally conspired to keep the price of the life-saving drug he’d bought high in violation of antitrust laws—even while rotting in prison and solving the coronavirus plague, allegedly!

The Shkreli sequel promises to be great fun, even if he no longer has a one-of-a-kind Wu Tang Clan album to seize toward repaying his debt to society. And the attention will all be on him, after his former company decided to do a deal.

U.S. Federal Trade Commission said in a statement that its commission and state co-plaintiffs, including New York, California and Illinois, had filed an order in court that "shuts down (the) illegal scheme" that it said was "masterminded" by Shkreli to exploit patients "dependent on the life-saving drug Daraprim….” The complaint had accused Shkreli and [Kevin] Mulleady of jacking up the price of the drug after obtaining exclusive rights to it before concocting "an elaborate web of restrictions to illegally block competitors from producing a cheaper option," the FTC said….

Under Tuesday's order, Vyera and Phoenixus AG will be expected pay up to $40 million in relief for victims, while Mulleady has been banned from working with any pharmaceutical company for seven years.

Meanwhile, Shkreli, Vyera's first CEO, is expected to begin an antitrust trial over the allegations that is set to start on December 14.

‘Pharma Bro’ firm reaches $40 million settlement in price gouging case as Shkreli faces trial [NBC News]
Theranos Founder Holmes Back on the Witness Stand in Fraud Trial [Bloomberg]
Ghislaine Maxwell Arranged Sexual Massages for Jeffrey Epstein, Accuser Says [WSJ]

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