Finance

‘Pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli held a surreal live stream minutes after being convicted of security fraud

Screen Shot 2017 08 04 at 4.19.22 PMMartin Shkreli during his livestream post-trialMartin Shkreli/Youtube

Moments after being found guilty on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, “pharma bro” Marin Shkreli launched into a trademark Youtube livestream.

Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical CEO best known for a price-gouging scandal, took questions from fans, streamed an interview with a New York Daily News reporter, and talked about everything from a possible appeal of the case to his one-of-a-kind Wu Tang Clan album.

Shkreli said it was a “50-50” chance he would be sentenced to prison — he faces up to 20 years — but was also upbeat about possibly getting the charges dismissed.

“I think I can get probation,” Shkreli said. “There’s a decent chance there’s a complete vacation of the charges.”

Shkreli was found not guilty on five other counts. The most serious of the charges, Shkreli and his lawyer argued Friday, was one alleging he paid back investors in his hedge fund using money from his former biotech firm, Retrofin. Shkreli was found not guilty on that charge.

“When you throw spaghetti at the wall, some of it sticks,” Shkreli said. “And some of this s— stuck.”

The former hedge fund investor and pharma exec also said that he thought the judge in the case was fair and that some of the charges he was convicted on amounted to “the prosecution slipping some past the jury.”

Asked by a viewer why he thought the charges were brought up, Shkreli said it was simply prosecutors “trying to get famous.”

In addition to talking about his case, Shkreli talked about the exclusive Wu Tang Clan album he famously purchased. He said that he wouldn’t stream the album, but was in discussion with the rap group on where and when to possibly release the music.

Later in the stream, Shkreli let New York Daily News reporter Ellen Moynihan into his apartment. He continued to streamed the exchange, which became tense at times when the conversation turned to the infamous price increase of the life-saving drug Daraprim by Shkreli’s company, Turing Pharmaceuticals.

The interview came after Shkreli attacked the media and the Daily News, calling it “fake news.”

During the interview with Moynihan, Shkreli also expressed admiration for former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and president Donald Trump.

Shkreli said that he liked Trump because he was a “troll,” but said the federal government has little influence on normal people’s lives.

“I think politics is the biggest charade,” he told Moynihan. “I think it’s all random noise, the system can’t be controlled by one person.”

“The idea that DJT cares about you, that people in Washington care about you… they don’t,” Shkreli continued.

You can watch the stream below:

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