Martin Shkreli, former hedge fund manager and pharmaceutical executive, has recently returned to the news concerning the coronavirus pandemic. He is the latest in the list of known people asking for an early release, along with Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland and rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine.
As Bloomberg reports, Shkreli has apparently asked a federal judge for an early release, citing that he "has been conducting significant research into developing molecules to inhibit the coronavirus," and would continue on this work should the courts grant his request.
The "Pharma Bro" was charged and convicted of securities fraud and was later sentenced to seven years in federal prison in 2018. Aside from his fraudulent acts, here are some of the other antics that landed him on the front page of the news.
Daraprim Price Hike Controversy
Shkreli is perhaps best known for jacking up the prices of an anti-parasite medicine by 5,000%. He established Turing Pharmaceuticals in 2015 and acquired Daraprim from Impax Laboratories later that year. Daraprim is used in the treatment of life-threatening parasitic infections.
The price of the 62-year-old drug went from $13.50 to $750 overnight, The New York Times reported.
Unsurprisingly, this move was jointly criticized by the HIV Medicine Association and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and later by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Even presidential candidates at the time Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton also denounced the act.
Once Upon a Time in Shaolin
In 2013, legendary hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan released their seventh studio album "Once Upon A Time In Shaolin." Since it is considered as an art object, the album only has one copy ever made and is sold to the highest bidder. The two-disk work is encased in a "silver jewel-encrusted box with a wax Wu-Tang Clan seal" and 174 pages of liner notes.
The winner must also abide by a set of rules, including that provision stating that the album can't be commercially reproduced until 2103. Martin Shkreli himself won the auction in 2015, for a staggering price tag of $2 million. Wu-Tang de facto leader RZA clarified that the sale pushed through before the Daraprim controversy, and that part of the deal went to charity.
In 2016, Shkreli told Vice that he "vacillates between wanting to destroy the record and dreaming of installing it in some remote place so that people have to make a spiritual quest to listen." He also attempted to sell the album on e-bay, with the price surpassing the $1 million within eight days. The sale did not push through because of his arrest. His notoriety and generally negative image made the jury selection process challenging, with one of the jurors saying that he can't let the Pharma Bro "slide out of anything," one of the reasons being "he disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan."
It was among the assets seized from "Pharma Bro" by the federal courts, with members Wu-Tang clan expressing interest in recovering the rare album.
Tha Carter V
Rap icon Lil Wayne announced in 2012 that the upcoming "Tha Carter V" would be his final album before retirement. It was finally released in 2018, after several delays due to personal and professional disputes.
However, the then-unreleased work came to light when Martin Shkreli leaked a song, Mona Lisa featuring Kendrick Lamar, during one of his live streams in 2017. Sources reported Alex Pfeiffer's story starting with Lil Wayne's sale of his Bugatti Veyron, who found an assortment of CDs lying around, one of which is coincidentally a copy of "Tha Carter V" which he later sold to the Pharma Bro.
As with the Wu-Tang album, "Tha Carter V" is also among the catalog of rare and expensive items the former pharma executive had to surrender, which also included a Picasso painting.
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