‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli has caught the attention of federal and state authorities again

Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg/Getty Images

“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli has caught the attention of federal and state authorities again.

Since his 2022 release from prison for securities fraud, Shkreli — who gained national notoriety for inflating the price of a life-saving drug — has been livestreaming on YouTube his stock trades, including several positions involving pharmaceutical companies.

In June, he launched a trading competition with an account boasting a $10 million balance and earlier touted a successful short position he had taken on a biotech company.

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from seven states alleged that through trading and statements on social media platforms, Shkreli has “flagrantly and repeatedly” violated the court order that barred him from participating in the pharmaceutical industry.

On Tuesday, they asked a federal judge to hold Shkreli in contempt, fine him the total profits he made from the trades, and potentially send him to prison if he doesn’t stop.

“In addition to his public trading, Shkreli himself has indicated that he has more accounts and does most of his trading off social media,” authorities wrote. They cited Shkreli saying, “I have some other accounts that I’[d] show you, but, like, I know feds are watching, so f*ck that,’” according to the court filing.

Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File

Martin Shkreli ordered to give up all copies of one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album

The FTC and seven states — New York, California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia — sued Shkreli in 2020 for anticompetitive behavior for raising the price of Daraprim, a life-saving drug for a toxic parasitic disease, by 4,000% overnight to $750 per pill. The case went to trial, and in January 2022, Shkreli was found liable, ordered to pay $64.6 million and banned from any activity in the pharmaceutical industry.

The civil trial followed his separate criminal case in which Shkreli was found guilty of securities fraud in 2018 and sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in May 2022.

Almost immediately, the FTC and states allege, Shkreli began violating the court’s ban by setting up a trading competition involving at least 11 pharmaceutical stocks. He also started shorting, or betting the price of biotech company Cassava Sciences would drop. During his livestreams, authorities say, Shkreli argued the company’s clinical study was doomed to fail.

On November 21, 2024, on X, he said, “I don’t think it doesn’t work. It is impossible for it to work.”

Four days later, Cassava publicly said the clinical study failed.

Authorities say Shkreli “gloated” about the success of his short position.

“They don’t want you to know. They want you to stay stupid. I try to give you some advice. Twenty years of experience. I made a lot of money in these binary events, man. Some people say that I’m the GOAT at it, but you didn’t want to hear nothing,” Shkreli said, according to the court filing.

CNN reached out to Shkreli for comment. His last livestream was on Monday.

Authorities allege Shkreli’s sister and her partner appear to have assisted him. They asked the judge to order them to preserve evidence.

The FTC and states say what they uncovered may be the “tip of the iceberg.”

“We do not currently have access to the vast majority of evidence that would establish the extent of his misconduct, including how he has profited from his violations and whether he continues to own any Pharmaceutical Company stocks,” they wrote.

岩村由纪/彭博社/盖蒂图片社

“医药大佬”马丁·什克雷利再次引起了联邦和州政府当局的关注。

自 2022 年因证券欺诈罪出狱以来，因抬高救命药价格而臭名昭著的什克雷利一直在 YouTube 上直播他的股票交易，其中包括几笔涉及制药公司的交易。

今年6月，他发起了一项交易比赛，账户余额高达1000万美元。此前，他还曾吹嘘自己成功地做空了一家生物科技公司。

美国联邦贸易委员会和七个州的司法部长指控什克雷利通过社交媒体平台上的交易和言论，“公然且反复地”违反了禁止他参与制药行业的法院命令。

周二，他们请求联邦法官以藐视法庭罪名判处什克雷利死刑，罚款金额为他从这些交易中获得的全部利润，如果他不停止这些交易，还可能将他送进监狱。

“除了公开交易外，什克雷利本人也表示他还有更多账户，而且大部分交易都是在社交媒体之外进行的，”当局写道。法庭文件显示，什克雷利曾说过：“我还有一些其他账户可以给你们看，但是，我知道联邦调查局在监视我，所以算了。”

岩村由纪/彭博社/盖蒂图片社/文件

马丁·什克雷利被勒令交出所有独一无二的武当派专辑副本

2020年，美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）和七个州——纽约州、加利福尼亚州、伊利诺伊州、北卡罗来纳州、俄亥俄州、宾夕法尼亚州和弗吉尼亚州——起诉施克雷利，指控其反竞争行为，原因是其一夜之间将治疗一种毒性寄生虫病的救命药达拉匹林（Daraprim）的价格提高了4000%，达到每片750美元。该案最终开庭审理，2022年1月，施克雷利被判有罪，并被勒令支付6460万美元的赔偿金，同时被禁止从事任何制药行业活动。

在民事审判之前，什克雷利还曾因另一起刑事案件接受审判。2018年，什克雷利被判犯有证券欺诈罪，并被判处七年监禁。他于2022年5月获释。

据联邦贸易委员会和各州指控，什克雷利几乎立即开始违反法院禁令，组织了一场涉及至少11只制药公司股票的交易竞赛。他还开始做空生物技术公司Cassava Sciences，押注其股价下跌。当局称，什克雷利在直播中声称该公司的临床研究注定失败。

2024年11月21日，他在X上说：“我不认为它行不通。它不可能行得通。”

四天后，Cassava 公开表示该临床研究失败了。

当局称，什克雷利对他的空头头寸取得成功“沾沾自喜”。

“他们不想让你知道真相。他们想让你继续愚昧无知。我试着给你一些建议。我有二十年的经验。我靠这些二元期权赚了很多钱，伙计。有人说我是这方面的传奇人物，但你什么都不想听，”根据法庭文件，什克雷利说道。

CNN已联系什克雷利寻求置评。他最后一次直播是在周一。

当局称，什克雷利的妹妹及其伴侣似乎协助了他。他们请求法官下令三人保存证据。

美国联邦贸易委员会和各州表示，他们发现的情况可能只是“冰山一角”。

他们写道：“我们目前无法获得绝大多数能够确定他不当行为程度的证据，包括他如何从违法行为中获利，以及他是否继续持有任何制药公司股票。”