Martin Shkreli livestreamed himself violating lifetime pharma ban, FTC says

Martin Shkreli, the former pharmaceutical executive notorious for dramatically increasing the price of a critical anti-parasitic medication by over 4,000% and subsequently serving a seven-year prison term for his fraudulent actions, has been prohibited from participating in the industry permanently since 2022. However, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the attorneys general from seven states, Shkreli has persistently and significantly contravened this ban, allegedly engaging in stock trading in multiple drug companies and discussing the industry through live social media broadcasts.

On Tuesday, the FTC and the seven states requested a federal judge to deem Shkreli in contempt of court for these alleged infractions. The states involved encompass New York, California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the same jurisdictions that joined the FTC in initiating legal proceedings against Shkreli in 2020 concerning a complex anti-competitive scheme involving the anti-parasitic drug, Daraprim, which skyrocketed its price from $17.50 per pill to $750 per pill in an instant, simultaneously obstructing the entry of generic competitors into the market.