Martin Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical executive notorious for significantly increasing the price of a life-saving HIV drug, was convicted of securities fraud and has just received his sentence of 7 years in prison.
Prosecutors were fighting for at least a 15-year sentence while the defense was pushing for a 12-18 month sentence.
Shkreli was responsible for raising the price of the drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent, which caused a lot of controversy and discussion about the U.S.’s pharmaceutical practices. But this conviction is unrelated. He was sentenced to 7 years for defrauding investors out of $10 million.
'Most hated man in America' Martin #Shkreli sentenced to 7 yrs in prison, prosecutors were asking for 15 https://t.co/IK650dCrOs pic.twitter.com/sUWAOMul7B
— RT (@RT_com) March 9, 2018
“I was never motivated by money. I wanted to grow my stature and my reputation. I am here because of my gross, stupid and negligent mistakes I made,” said Shkreli, sitting at the defense table.
Judge Matsumoto ruled on Monday that Shkreli would not only be sentenced to 7 years, he will also have to forfeit $7.36 million to the government to cover his fraud, and his assets (including a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album and a Picasso) will be seized if he cannot come up with the money.
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