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

Martin Shkreli exits court in New York on October 4, 2023. Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg/Getty Images Federal agencies Investing Corporate news See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Threads Link Copied! Follow “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.

Martin Shkreli, former chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, exits court in New York, on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. 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.

The FTC and attorneys general alleged Martin Shkreli has “flagrantly and repeatedly” violated the court order that barred him from participating in the pharmaceutical industry

The FTC and attorneys general alleged Martin Shkreli has “flagrantly and repeatedly” violated the court order that barred him from participating in the pharmaceutical industry

"'Pharma bro' Martin Shkreli has been livestreaming his stock trades" 0:18 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.