Federal Bureau of Investigation says it doesn’t have the Wu-Tang Clan album

His attorneys had no immediate comment.

The charges relate to his management of New York-based hedge fund MSMB Capital Management, whose closure he announced in 2012, and his time as CEO of Retrophin from 2012 to 2014.

U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said in a statement that “Shkreli engaged in multiple schemes to ensnare investors through a web of lies and deceit”.

Shkreli was charged with securities fraud and conspiracy.

Bloomberg and Reuters reported that Shkreli was arrested Thursday at his home in NY.

Shkreli faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Shkreli, 32, gained notoriety in September when his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of Daraprim from $US13.50 a tablet to $US750 after acquiring the drug. For over 60 years the drug has been used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can cause brain damage in babies and AIDS patients. Bernie Sanders’s campaign subsequently called him a “poster boy for drug company greed”.

As Business Insider notes, the government says in its complaint against Shkreli that it it may “seek forfeiture” of “any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to any such offenses”.

But if the group is considering making a run for the album … they should call up Murray and go for it.

The FBI said he was targeted instead in an $US11 million ($15.5 million) embezzlement probe at another company he once led, Retrophin. It’s the fairly boring stuff of white-collar crime, and not entirely surprising coming from someone who’s become a public villain of sorts in the last few months. Most patients’ copayments will be capped at $10 or less a month.

In recent days, he has said that journalists do not “matter” and asked about a Democratic presidential candidate, “If @BernieSanders was a parasite what would he be?” Shkreli had been unapologetic about his practices, at one point saying “I probably would have raised the price higher”, and “my investors expect me to maximize profits”. After news broke of Shkreli’s arrest, shares were down by 50 percent before being halted indefinitely, pending receipt of additional information requested by the Nasdaq, according to MarketWatch. Shkreli has previously denied any wrongdoing related to the matter. He refers to those who follow him online as his “fans”. He said he paid $2 million.

Retrophin has since sued Shkreli in federal court, seeking $65 million from him, accusing him of misusing the company’s cash and stock. Inevitably they would cite associates who would praise Shkreli’s ability to learn nearly anything, the unbelievable autodidact who could credibly claim an ambition in drug research.