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It's 7 Years in Prison for Martin Shkreli, Convicted of Fraud
A federal judge sentenced former pharmaceutical executive and hedge-fund manager Martin Shkreli to seven years in prison Friday following his earlier conviction on three of eight counts of securities and wire fraud charges.
According to reporters present in the Brooklyn courtroom, Shkreli gave an emotional and tearful speech prior to his sentencing, taking blame and responsibility for his actions and saying he had changed as a person since his conviction. US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto reportedly handed him a box of tissues and took a lengthy amount of time reviewing his transgressions and history.
The sentencing caps a long, public saga for Shkreli, who is widely reviled for drastically raising the price of a cheap, decades-old drug, as well as provocative and offensive online antics, including harassing women.
Obligatory Nelson HaHa
Source: ArsTechnica
Sobbing "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Defrauding Investors
KSWB-TV reports
He was convicted on August 5, 2017 of securities fraud and conspiracy in what prosecutors said amounted to a Ponzi scheme. Shkreli called the charges "a witch hunt of epic proportions".
During his sentencing on Friday in Brooklyn federal court, Shkreli, 34, broke into tears and pleaded with the judge for leniency.
"I look back and I'm embarrassed and ashamed", he told the court. "I am terribly sorry", he said to his investors, "I lost your trust."
At his trial last year, Shkreli often wore a smirk and was chastised by the judge for his behavior, including for an incident in which he told reporters that the prosecutors on the case were "junior varsity". He also ignored the advice of his lawyer by commenting on the trial via social media and YouTube.
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(Score: 5, Informative) by NotSanguine on Sunday March 11 2018, @09:10PM (1 child)
I never said anything about a life sentence. I am aware of the sentence he faced (and the DOJ, in fact, asked for 15 years). I think he should have gotten the max (that self-same 15 years). As it is, he can shave at least a year off that with "good behavior."
Oh, and for the record, I'm not in favor of life sentences, except in cases where it's pretty clear that the individual is clearly a danger to others and is unlikely to be rehabilitated (not that rehabilitation is on the agenda in US prisons. More's the pity). I'm also against the death penalty. Mostly because people are wrongfully convicted all the time, and if you execute someone and it turns out they were innocent of that crime, you can't release them once they're dead.
What's more, I imagine that spending the rest of your life in a 6x9 box, with each day regimented and no expectation that will ever end except via the sweet release of death, would be much worse than just being killed.
tl;dr: You made unwarranted assumptions about me. Don't put words in my mouth.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 3, Interesting) by SubiculumHammer on Sunday March 11 2018, @11:53PM
Its mainly that white collar crime gets punished so much less harshly than a guy that steals your car, and people are tired of it.