Martin Shkreli was ordered by a federal judge to forfeit almost US$7.4 million, in a win for prosecutors who say the hedge-fund manager turned pharmaceutical executive cheated his investors.
Shkreli, who is in jail, will be sentenced March 9 on his conviction for defrauding investors in hedge funds he ran by lying to them about his track record and performance as well as a fraud scheme involving Retrophin Inc., a company he founded.
‘I was a fool’: Remorseful Shkreli pleads for mercy as he braces for possibly a 30-year prison sentence
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Former drug company exec Martin Shkreli convicted of fraud, conspiracy
Shkreli had argued that he shouldn’t have to forfeit anything — or very little — because he didn’t profit from the crimes. Money from his investors went into the stock market, and he didn’t get anything from his plan to control Retrophin shares, his lawyers have said. Investors ultimately got their money back, and more, through settlements and consulting agreements Shkreli arranged, he said.
He also wanted to pay other creditors, including his lawyers, before forfeiting any money — a notion rejected Monday by U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn, New York.
Shkreli’s assets include a Picasso, US$5 million in his personal trading account, a one-of-a-kind special edition album by the Wu-Tang Clan and his shares in Vyera Pharmaceuticals — formerly called Turing Pharmaceuticals, according to prosecutors.
Matsumoto’s order didn’t identify which assets should be forfeited but ruled the U.S. can seek “substitute assets” if there’s not enough cash.
Prosecutors last month argued that Shkreli cost his investors more than US$20 million by inducing them to put millions of dollars into his two hedge funds which operated essentially like Ponzi schemes. They said he spent investor funds on personal expenses “to maintain the image of a successful hedge fund manager.”
Bloomberg.com
http://business.financialpost.com/n...n-as-he-awaits-sentencing-on-fraud-conviction
Shkreli, who is in jail, will be sentenced March 9 on his conviction for defrauding investors in hedge funds he ran by lying to them about his track record and performance as well as a fraud scheme involving Retrophin Inc., a company he founded.
‘I was a fool’: Remorseful Shkreli pleads for mercy as he braces for possibly a 30-year prison sentence
Shkreli’s ex-lawyer convicted of aiding him in fraud scheme
Former drug company exec Martin Shkreli convicted of fraud, conspiracy
Shkreli had argued that he shouldn’t have to forfeit anything — or very little — because he didn’t profit from the crimes. Money from his investors went into the stock market, and he didn’t get anything from his plan to control Retrophin shares, his lawyers have said. Investors ultimately got their money back, and more, through settlements and consulting agreements Shkreli arranged, he said.
He also wanted to pay other creditors, including his lawyers, before forfeiting any money — a notion rejected Monday by U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn, New York.
Shkreli’s assets include a Picasso, US$5 million in his personal trading account, a one-of-a-kind special edition album by the Wu-Tang Clan and his shares in Vyera Pharmaceuticals — formerly called Turing Pharmaceuticals, according to prosecutors.
Matsumoto’s order didn’t identify which assets should be forfeited but ruled the U.S. can seek “substitute assets” if there’s not enough cash.
Prosecutors last month argued that Shkreli cost his investors more than US$20 million by inducing them to put millions of dollars into his two hedge funds which operated essentially like Ponzi schemes. They said he spent investor funds on personal expenses “to maintain the image of a successful hedge fund manager.”
Bloomberg.com
http://business.financialpost.com/n...n-as-he-awaits-sentencing-on-fraud-conviction
