Witnesses in Martin Shkreli case are worried about retaliation
Pharmaceutical villain and self-styled street thug Martin Shkreli has his adversaries quaking, according to a Brooklyn federal court filing.
Potential witnesses in his fraud case are concerned that the erratic entrepreneur will retaliate against them if they cooperate with the feds, prosecutors said.
In establishing his thug credentials, prosecutors pointed to interviews where he portrayed himself as a hardened Brooklyn ruffian with dark ties to the street.
“There’s a little ‘Shmurda’ in me, too,” the frail social media star claimed in one sitdown, referring to jailed rapper Bobby Shmurda. “People that know me know that there’s a little Bobby-equivalent in my blood, too. That comes from growing up on the edge of the hood.”
Prosecutors said Shkreli has a history of harassing his enemies and that witnesses are wary of his wrath.
“There is evidence that defendant Shkreli has taken steps to intimidate or threaten individuals in the past,” the filing states.
“In interviews with the government, several witnesses have advised that have been threatened by defendant Shkreli in connection with past disputes they had with defendant Shkreli, whether of a personal or professional nature,” the filing states.
In a dispute with a former business associate, Shkreli threatened him directly and leveled insults at his wife and four children for good measure, the filing states.
“I had two guys parked outside of his house for six months watching his every move,” Shkreli blustered in the interview. “I can get down.”
Shkreli faces fraud raps for lying about the financial health of a pair of cratering hedge funds to lure investment and for illegally commingling money.
Once an obscure pharmaceutical CEO, Shkreli’s infamy detonated online after he hiked the price of an HIV drug 5,000 percent and then frolicked in the ensuing rage.
He’s been embroiled in a series of near-farcical feuds since then, drawing ire for paying $2 million for the lone copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album and then insisting that he didn’t bother to listen to it.
Shkreli has collided most recently with Wu-Tang Clan forefather Ghostface Killah, who appeared unconcerned about his purported street ties and referred to him as “Pee Wee Herman.”
Thursday’s filing by prosecutors urged the delay of a separate SEC case against Shkreli until the criminal case played out.
The filing claimed that Shkreli and his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, are pushing to proceed with the civil case to gain a tactical advantage in the parallel criminal proceeding.
He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
“Any claim that Martin Shkreli intimidates witnesses is preposterous,” Brafman said. “While his keen ‘intellect’ can at times be intimidating to mere mortals, nothing else about Martin Shkreli is intimidating at all.”