Us District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto has ruled that Martin Shkreli is going to be held responsible for $10.4M in financial losses sustained by investors after he is sentenced for his crimes. Shkreli, who was found guilty of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, had tried to argue that he wasn’t responsible for those losses, seeing as investors eventually profited when he partially paid them back with Retrophin stock while he was the CEO of that pharmaceutical company.
The fraud charges are related to his running of the investment funds MSMB Capital, Elea Capital, and MSMB Healthcare. Federal prosecutors accused him of bilking investors of more than $11M in a Ponzi scam. Shkreli also is accused of lying to investors, including failing to tell them when two of the hedge funds he operated failed. Prosecutors contend that Shkreli was the cause of somewhere between $9M and $20M in investor losses.
Judge Matsumoto’s ruling regarding Shkreli’s financial responsibility is more about determining the length of the recommended prison term he should get and not about how much he owes the government, along with his sentence. With this latest ruling, Shkreli could face up to 20 years behind bars. Previous to that, his defense attorneys were hoping to get him either no time in prison or under 16 months. However, the higher the loss involved in a crime, federal guidelines recommend the calculation of a longer prison term.
Shkreli had previously come under fire when, as Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO he raised the price of a lifesaving drug used by AIDS patients by 5000% from $13.50/pill to $750/pill. Those actions are not connected to this criminal securities fraud case against him.
Hedge Fund Fraud
At The SSEK Partners Group, our hedge fund fraud lawyers are here to help investors recoup their securities losses caused by investment fraud. Please contact us today. We work with high net worth individual investors and institutional investors.
NJ Hedge Fund Operator is Convicted of Fraud
In other recent criminal hedge fund fraud news, a jury has convicted Nicholas Lattanzio, the owner and operator of the Black Diamond Capital Appreciation Fund LP and other entities, of fraud. Lattanzio was convicted on multiple counts of securities fraud and wire fraud related to a scam in which two corporate clients paid millions of dollars in fees that were supposed to lead to future investment opportunities or loans that never happened.
Lattanzio instead stole their money, including paying himself a salary of over $500K and to cover a number of his own expenses, including a million-dollar home, a $100K diamond ring, and repayment of $500K in credit card debt. Meantime, the investors were defrauded of $4M even as Lattanzio sought to make them think their investments were doing fine.
Hedge Fund Fraud Lawyers
Even if prosecutors have brought a criminal fraud case against the hedge fund manager that was responsible for your investment losses, and also regulators have brought forward a civil claim, it is still important that you work with an experienced securities fraud attorney who can help you recover your investment losses. Contact The SSEK Partners Group today.
Big ‘loss’ for Martin Shkreli: Judge’s ruling means ‘pharma bro’ could get decade or more in prison, CNBC February 26, 2018
Martin Shkreli convicted of securities fraud, conspiracy, CNN, August 4, 2017
Montclair hedge fund owner found guilty of stealing $4 million, NorthJersey.com, February 15, 2018
More Blog Posts from SSEK Law Firm:
SEC Stops Alleged $5.3M Hedge Fund Fraud Involving Willow Creek Advisors, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, February 5, 2018
Multimillion-Dollar Investment Adviser Fraud Cases Target Widows, Older Investors, and Other Retail Investors, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, December 28, 2017
Ameriprise Ordered to Pay $8M Over F-Squared Alpha Sector Strategy Sales, Institutional Investor Securities Blog, November 8, 2017