"THEY SEE ME ROLLING..." pic.twitter.com/D1mDBEeZMq
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 16, 2015
Though many have astutely observed that finance loser turned pharmaceutical wantrapreneur Martin Shkreli is "worthless," the 32-year-old arrested on charges of securities fraud involving his former hedge fund and more recent companies is, in fact, worth at least $45 million.
As Bloomberg and the Business Times report, that's by dint of his E-Trade brokerage account, which was valued at $45 million last week. And, according to court records, he's used $5 million of it as security on his bail bond, though he may not sell or transfer any of those funds from the account.
As CBS SF recalls, Shkreli became the object of scrutiny when his company Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of a life-saving drug from $13.50 to $750 (per tablet) virtually overnight. In his recent jaunt to the Bay Area, Shkreli also left disaster in his wake, landing a company he purchased, KaloBios, in bankruptcy after he was understandably fired from it (leading him, of course, to threaten them).
Shkreli has also been criticized for his purchase of the only copy of the Wu-Tang Clan's album Once Upon A Time in Shaolin. While fucking with the Wu-Tang Clan is only a criminal offense in the court of public opinion, Shkreli might see fit to, say, hike up the price of the album and turn that around to pay for some legal fees.
The Feds accuse Shkreli of running what amounts to a million-dollar Ponzi scheme in a "web of lies and deceit" according to US Attorney Robert Caper. Per the indictment, Shkreli is faced with seven counts of villainy including two counts of securities fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and three counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted he could do 20 years in prison. Maybe he might want to keep the album after all. Could make for some good desert-island listening.
FML. pic.twitter.com/8ModeaBPVB
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) October 20, 2015