FBI Arrests Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli

The FBI arrested Shkreli on Thursday after an investigation into the pharmaceutical company he started and his former hedge fund, according to Reuters.

The drug is the only approved treatment for toxoplasmosis, a disease that mainly strikes pregnant women, cancer patients and AIDS patients. Details of the charges are to be disclosed at a noon press conference by Robert Capers, the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn.

Also arrested was Evan Greebel, a lawyer who was outside counsel to Retrophin, the agency said. “In the case that closely tracks that suit, federal prosecutors accused Shkreli of engaging in a complicated shell game after his defunct hedge fund, MSMB Capital Management, lost millions“.

It seems like only a few days ago that reviled pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli was doing what he’s best known for: raising the price of critical medical drugs and saying gross things about Taylor Swift.

Shkreli gained notoriety in September when his startup company bought the right to a life-saving drug and then hiked the price of it by 5,000%.

Shkreli said the company would cut the drug’s price.

Shkreli, who most recently trolled hip-hop fans by buying the only copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album for several millions of dollars, was typically defiant when discussing both the lawsuit and the investigations. “Starting sometime in early 2012, and continuing until he left the company, Shkreli used his control over Retrophin to enrich himself and to pay off claims of MSMB investors (who he had defrauded)”.

Either way there is no question that Shkreli has a lot of faith in the Brooklyn rapper, as he goes on during the interview to state that Shmurda is “New York’s best chance for rap since 50 Cent”.

Photo/Craig Ruttle, FileShares of biopharmaceutical company KaloBios are down 50% in pre-market trading on Thursday. He will reportedly also face parallel civil charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission.