The Latest: 'Pharma Bro' says he made mistakes, apologizes
The Latest on the sentencing of "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
"Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli is crying as he tells a judge preparing to sentence him that he made many mistakes.
The pharmaceutical executive apologized to investors he defrauded in a securities fraud conviction.
He says he is the only person to blame and not the media, government, nor his business partners. He says he hopes to get a chance to make amends and learn from his mistakes.
Prosecutors want him sentenced to 15 years in prison, while his defense attorney argued he only deserves 18 months because his investors in two failed hedge funds got their money back.
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12:20 p.m.
A federal prosecutor says "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) should be sentenced to 15 years, not because he is "the most hated man in America," but because he's a criminal convicted of serious fraud.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said Friday that the judge must also consider the history and characteristics of the defendant. She says the pharmaceutical CEO has "no respect whatsoever" for the law or the court proceedings.
Shkreli became notorious for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and trolling critics online. But he was convicted in a separate securities fraud case.
His lawyers asked for 18 months because his investors in two failed hedge funds got all of their money back.
U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto (KEE'-yoh maht-soo-MOH'-toh) will decide Friday.
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11:30 a.m.
A defense lawyer for "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) says his client shouldn't be sentenced to a more severe punishment because he is outspoken.
Attorney Benjamin Brafman is speaking at the sentencing Friday for the pharmaceutical company CEO on a securities fraud conviction.
Shkreli became notorious for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and trolling critics online.
Brafman says that sometimes he wants to hug Shkreli, and sometimes he wants to punch him in the face. He says his client has made his job more difficult by his online outbursts, but he shouldn't be punished for that.
U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto (KEE'-yoh maht-soo-MOH'-toh) is weighing Brafman's request to sentence him to 18 months, or at least 15 years as prosecutors have requested.
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11:05 a.m.
"Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) is in the courtroom to be sentenced on a securities fraud conviction.
A judge must weigh whether the pharmaceutical company CEO is a manipulator who conned wealthy investors or a misunderstood eccentric who made those same investors even wealthier.
The defense wants the judge to give Shkreli a sentence of 18 months or less because his investors in two failed hedge funds got all of their money back. Prosecutors say he deserves at least 15 years behind bars for lying to them.
Shkreli became notorious for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and trolling critics on the internet with his snarky persona.
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12:03 a.m.
Is "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli (SHKREL'-ee) a manipulator who conned wealthy investors or a misunderstood eccentric who made those same investors even wealthier?
A federal judge in Brooklyn will have to weigh the conflicting portrayals of the former pharmaceutical company CEO on Friday at his sentencing on a securities fraud conviction.
The stakes are high: The defense wants the judge to give Shkreli a sentence of 18 months or less because his investors in two failed hedge funds got all of their money back. Prosecutors say he deserves at least 15 years behind bars for lying to them.
Shkreli became notorious for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and trolling critics on the internet with his snarky "Pharma Bro" persona.
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