Judge bans ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli from pharmaceutical industry ‘for life’

The decision by US District Judge Denise Cote Friday was part of a civil case brought by the Federal Trade Commission, and attorneys general for New York, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia in 2020, who alleged Shkreli violated federal and state laws that ban anticompetitive conduct. A week-long trial took place in December, which Shkreli opted not to attend, according to the ruling.

CNN has reached out to attorneys for Shkreli for comment. He is currently serving a prison sentence on unrelated charges at a federal facility in Pennsylvania and is expected to be released in November, according to Bureau of Prisons online records.

Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy in 2017 for defrauding investors out of more than $10 million between 2009 and 2014 in what prosecutors called a Ponzi scheme. In 2018, he was sentenced to seven years in federal prison and was ordered to forfeit nearly $7.4 million in assets along with a $75,000 fine.

Shkreli was reportedly continuing to run the remains of a drug company from prison, and Cote referenced in her ruling Shkreli communicated with executives using a contraband cell phone.

New York Attorney General Letita James, representing one of the states that will receive money from…