A controversial pharmaceutical executive who was in the spotlight earlier this year after he planned a large price increase for a widely-used AIDS drug is behind bars this morning after reports say he has been arrested by the FBI.
According to The Hill:
“Martin Shkreli, who drew national scorn for hiking the cost of a life-saving drug by 4,000 percent overnight, has been arrested, Bloomberg reported early Thursday.
The 32-year-old founder and CEO of Turing Pharmaceutical made headlines in September for raising the price of Daraprim, which is often used to treat HIV and AIDS patients, from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill overnight.
His arrest reportedly is not related to that price increase.
Shkreli is accused of illegally taking stock from a biotechnology firm he launched in 2011 called Retrophin Inc., Bloomberg reported, and using it for paying off unrelated business debts.
Federal prosecutors allege he also conducted a complicated shell game with his shuttered hedge fund, MSMB Capital Management, the news service added. He is charged with making sham consulting agreements and secret payoffs using the firm. “
