FTC: ‘Pharma bro’ Shkreli violated lifetime industry ban, should be held in contempt

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a coalition of seven states asked a federal court on Tuesday to punish Martin Shkreli for “flagrantly and repeatedly” violating a lifetime ban from being involved in the pharmaceutical industry.

In a court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the FTC said Shkreli has traded in at least 60 pharmaceutical stocks since being released from prison in 2022. He’s also been broadcasting his opinions about the business and management of the companies through livestreaming and posting on numerous social media platforms.

The coalition asked a federal judge to hold Shkreli in contempt and institute penalties, including forcing him to forfeit all trading profits and sell all his pharmaceutical stock.

The filing asked the court to demand Shkreli pay a fine equal to his profits from trading on pharma stocks and face consequences for any future violations, “including financial penalties and potential incarceration.”

“A court-ordered lifetime ban isn’t a suggestion,” New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) said in a statement. “Martin Shkreli has been livestreaming his pharmaceutical company trades for the world to see, in violation of the law. Shkreli’s market manipulation and monopolistic tactics put investors and the public at risk, and we’re going back to court to put a stop to his latest illegal behavior.”

Shkreli became known as “pharma bro” in 2015 for unapologetically raising the price of an anti-parasitic drug called Daraprim by 5,000 percent. Shkreli notoriously told Congress he should have increased the price more and maintained he did nothing wrong.

He was separately convicted of three counts of fraud in 2017 and sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in 2022.

Prior to his release, a federal court banned him from ever working in the drug industry again, saying he illegally tried to prevent generic competition to Daraprim.

Despite the court’s order, the FTC in the filing said Shkreli has openly traded pharmaceutical stocks and publicly discussed the industry at length, encouraging his social media followers to invest based on his recommendations.

This isn’t the first time Shkreli has been accused of flouting the lifetime ban. The FTC in 2023 asked the court to hold Shkreli in contempt for failing to pay a $65 million fine and for not cooperating with an investigation into his role in the formation of a software company called Druglike.