CEO Shkreli claims embezzlement allegations are ‘baseless’

Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager under fire for buying a pharmaceutical company and ratcheting up the price of a life-saving drug, is in custody following a securities probe.

During the stream, Shkreli updated his Twitter profile to remove his “CEO” title, lost a few games of chess with viewers, compulsively stroked his hair, and strummed on his guitar.

Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical executive reviled for price-gouging, resigned Friday as head of the drugmaker Turing Pharmaceuticals.

Shkreli and Turing drew criticism in September when they hiked the price of an HIV drug from $13.50 to $750, a 5000% increase in the cost.

The only response he appears to have to anything related, is whether the drug Daraprim would be unavailable if either Turing Pharmaceutical were to go under or if Shkreli is no longer involved. A spokesman for Turing said Tilles would not be granting interviews.

He defends the decision as capitalism at work and says insurance and other programs ensure that people who need Daraprim will ultimately get it.

Following his arrest, Shkreli took to Twitter to say the fraud allegations against him were “baseless and without merit”.

Federal law enforcement officials said Shkreli ran his companies “like a Ponzi scheme” and that the charges he faces represent a “trifecta of lies, deceit, and greed”.

On Friday, Community Solutions, a homelessness charity, said it would give back the entire $15,000 it received from Shkreli. He said prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to understand the accounting.

“I’d love to date Lindsey Lohan”, he said at one point.

He was charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, with a maximum sentence for the top count of 20 years in prison. I missed you too,”while responding to their comments”.