Martin Shkreli Resigns as Turing CEO After Fraud Arrest

Shkreli was arrested on Thursday for engaging in what USA prosecutors said was a Ponzi-like scheme at his former hedge fund and a pharmaceutical company he previously headed.

This is not the first time Shkreli’s past with Retrophin and MSMB have landed him in legal trouble.

The investigation, in which Shkreli, 32, has been charged with securities fraud, is related to his time as a hedge fund manager and running the biopharmaceutical company Retrophin – not the price-gouging controversy that has swirled around him in recent months.

Lefcourt said that the way the judge who handles Shkreli’s criminal case views his public conduct could affect the judge’s decision on pretrial motions and arguments, which in turn can affect Shkreli’s chances of beating the charges. A second defendant, lawyer Evan Greebel, of Scarsdale, New York, was charged with conspiracy and also pleaded not guilty.

Filings from Jawando’s third quarter report show that Shkreli and executives of his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, contributed more than $28,000 to Jawando’s campaign-about 10 percent of his total donations. It treats a rare parasitic disease that strikes pregnant women, cancer patients and AIDS patients.

In a statement Friday after Shkreli’s resignation, Turing said he’ll be replaced on an interim basis by Chairman Ron Tilles. Instead, the company is reducing what it charges hospitals for Daraprim by as much as 50%.

Leading pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, which is now the exclusive United States supplier of Turing’s Daraprim, said it had inventory of the drug, which had a list price of $750 per dose. The Deerfield-based company has been calling for Turing to lower the price.

Last month, he gained control of another drug company, Kalobios Pharmaceuticals, whose stock price plummeted on news of his arrest, falling 53.24 percent to $11.03 before trading was suspended.

Turing has offices in NY and Zug, Switzerland. The hedge fund manager-turned-pharmaceutical company, CEO was arrested abruptly from his Manhattan home before dawn and in a dramatic turn of events.

But Shkreli, who is also very active on Twitter, dismissed a retweet of Clinton’s criticism with a popular Internet acronym.

The FBI’s investigation dates back at least to January, when Retrophin said it received a subpoena from prosecutors seeking information about its relationship with Shkreli.