In a significant blow to Martin Shkreli, the former CEO of a pharmaceutical company, the US Supreme Court has refused to hear his appeal against a hefty $64.6 million fine imposed for price-gouging a lifesaving drug. The penalty, equivalent to the profits made by Shkreli and his company from hiking the price of Daraprim by over 4,000% in 2015, was upheld by a lower court in 2022. The Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene means Shkreli will have to pay the fine, which was imposed by US District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan.
Shkreli’s appeal did not challenge a lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry, also imposed by Judge Cote, who described his tactics as “particularly heartless and coercive.” The judge’s ruling was part of a civil antitrust case brought by the US Federal Trade Commission and several states, including New York, California, and Illinois.
Shkreli’s lawyer, Thomas Huff, expressed disappointment at the Supreme Court’s decision but hinted that they may challenge the penalty again in the future if a favorable legal precedent emerges. Shkreli, now 41, gained notoriety for his role in price-gouging Daraprim, a drug used to treat toxoplasmosis, including in people with AIDS. He later served more than four years in prison for defrauding investors and scheming to defraud another drugmaker.
Since his release from prison in May 2022, Shkreli has worked as a software developer and consultant for a law office. However, he faces another legal battle, this time from the digital art collective PleasrDAO, which accuses him of streaming a rare Wu-Tang Clan album that was seized from him during his criminal case.
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