Martin Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical executive who gained infamy for a 5000% increase in the cost of a life saving medication, is back on the streets. He’s been released early from federal prison, as was initially revealed in a random tweet.
Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison for securities fraud. He ran each of his successive businesses like a ponzi scheme, using the new funding from a new company to payoff investors from his old companies.
He was sentenced to prison in 2017 for seven years, and yet, he appears to be out today.
It was first revealed that Shkreli was no longer in prison in a viral tweet. Edmond Sullivan shared a photo of himself and Shkreli on Twitter.
Sullivan joked:
“Picked up this guy hitchhiking. Say's he's famous.”
A surprising number of users greeted the news with enthusiasm and celebrations. This included Christie Smythe, a former Bloomberg reporter who supposedly fell in love with Shkreli after covering him.
Smythe said:
“HOW MANY JOURNALISTS have claimed ‘everyone’ hates Martin Shkreli and he has no ‘fans?’ But we all know that’s not true. You can see that today.”
That didn’t stop others from reminding people what Shkreli was really all about.
So why is Shkreli out of prison? Well his sentence hasn’t been entirely completed.
While it is true that Shkreli got some time off for good behavior, he’s not walking free just yet. Instead, he’s being transferred to a halfway house in an undisclosed location in New York to complete the rest of his sentence.
If things go well for the “Pharma Bro” he’ll be out for good in September.
Shkreli’s lawyer has advised his client to make no statements during his transfer. However, despite being banned from Twitter, Shkreli still had access to Facebook.
On there he said:
“Getting out of real prison is easier than getting out of Twitter prison.”
Though if the deal for Elon Musk to buy Twitter ever goes through, maybe we do have to worry about Shkreli tweeting again.
Among the most infamous things done by Shkreli, the strangest was his purchase of a one-of-a-kind album by the Wu-Tang Clan, One Upon a Time in Shaolin. After his sentencing, a judged ordered Shkreli to part with $7.36 million as part of his sentence for his criminal conviction, part of which came from his stake in ownership of the album.
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