Evan Greebel, former lawyer for Martin Shkreli. Source: Getty Images

Evan Greebel, former lawyer for companies run by Martin Skhreli could be headed to prison. A jury convicted him of helping “Pharma Bro” defraud investors of Retrophin to help pay outside debts owed by Skhreli:

A former lawyer for Martin Shkreli’s companies might be heading to prison after a jury convicted him of conspiring with the former biotech executive to defraud investors.

Evan Greebel, who advised companies including Retrophin Inc., was found guilty Wednesday of helping Shkreli steal $11 million to pay back investors after the hedge-fund-manager-turned-drug-executive lost their money in risky trades.

Greebel was expressionless as the verdict was read in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y. His wife, sitting in the gallery, burst into tears.

Shkreli, who was convicted in August of defrauding investors, is being held in prison while he awaits sentencing. He was ousted from Retrophin in September 2014 and went on to found Turing Pharmaceuticals, where he incited public outrage by jacking up the price of a life-saving drug more than 5,000%. Four months later, in December 2015, he was arrested and charged with fraud.

Greebel was accused of conspiring to help Shkreli create sham settlement and consulting contracts to bilk assets from Retrophin to repay losses to the Shkreli-controlled hedge fund. Most of the witnesses from Shkreli’s case also testified against Greebel.

About Pharma Bro

Pharma Bro and Turing made national headlines after the company hiked prices for a life-saving drug by more than 5,000%. Turing’s strategy was to acquire drugs off-patent where it was the sole source. That way if it hiked prices customers had no recourse but to pay up or die. Price-gouging became a point of contention after Senator Bernie Sanders’s HCV rant in 2015. Hillary Clinton picked up the mantle and accused Valeant, Turing and others of price-gouging. Pharma Bro refused to lower prices for his life-saving drug, and shortly thereafter he was indicted of securities fraud.
Skhreli claimed he was targeted for not “playing ball” with Clinton and the politicians who wanted lower drug prices. He also warned other, more reputable firms were also bilking customers. Since, Eli Lilly (LLY), Valeant, Celgene (CELG) and Allergan (AGN), amongst others, have all come under scrutiny for price gouging. Since Pharma Bro was arrested drug prices are still out of control and President Trump and others have failed to address it. The timing of (i) Hillary calling out Turing and (ii) Pharma Bro’s arrest for securities fraud does seem suspicious.

 

On Trump And The Global Economy

Wuyi, Coconut Rob, Shock Exchange, Professor Brogman stunt for the ‘gram

Trump And The Global Economy Town Hall took place October 24th in Fort Greene. It Featured Professor Lance Brofman, Coconut Rob (Coconut Rob Smoothies), Wuyi Jacobs (AfroBeats Radio) and Ralph Baker, author of Shock Exchange: How Inner-City Kids From Brooklyn Predicted the Great Recession and the Pain Ahead.

The event was well-received by the community. We parsed through President Trump’s proposed tax plan and [i] how it was pure economic folly and [ii] high net worth individuals could potentially game the system by shifting income around. Apparently, Kansas Coach Bill Self did this when the state of Kansas cut taxes in the past. We discussed the pros and cons of technology on workers and the economy. How will the economy and country prosper under Trump’s leadership vis-a-vis Obama? What’s behind the verbal sparring with black athletes, ESPN’s Jemele Hill and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un?

 

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