Martin Shkreli, Controversial Pharmaceuticals CEO and $2 Million Wu-Tang LP Purchaser, Arrested
Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli is the former hedge fund manager (and Collect Records associate) who made headlines this year for increasing the price of Daraprim—a drug used to treat AIDS and cancer patients—from $13.50 to $750. Last week, he was revealed to be the buyer of Wu-Tang Clan‘s one-of-a-kind album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which he reportedly paid $2 million for. Today, Shkreli was arrested at his Manhattan home on charges related to securities fraud, as Bloomberg Business reports. The arrest is not related to the Daraprim price scandal (nor to the Wu-Tang purchase).
Shkreli has been “charged with illegally taking stock from Retrophin Inc., a biotechnology firm he started in 2011, and using it to pay off debts from unrelated business dealings,” according to Bloomberg. Last year, Shkreli was fired from Retrophin, where he was serving as the chief executive officer. In August, he was sued by Retrophin for misusing company funds.
According to Bloomberg, the Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation into Shkreli in 2012.
Yesterday, Shkreli revealed in an interview with HipHopDX that he was “in discussion” to pay to bail Bobby Shmurda out of jail. He also mentioned a “a simmering [conflict] going on with the Wu-Tang Clan. It’s probably going to bubble. I don’t know if it’s going to lawsuits. I don’t know what’s going to happen, honestly.”
Update (4:24 p.m.): The FBI tweeted that there was no seizure warrant for Shkreli’s arrest, which means the Wu-Tang album is not in federal possession. They also sent out a press release detailing the indictment against Shkreli. Evan Greebel, a former partner at NYC law firm Katten Muchin, is also named in the indictment.
Additionally, Shkreli has been released on $5 million bond, as Reuters reports. His travel has been limited to parts of New York. The next day he’ll appear in court is January 20.
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