How much is the poster boy for unpopular drug-price hikes worth? At least $45 million.
Martin Shkreli, accused of federal securities fraud charges last December, was allowed to remain free pending trial after he secured his $5-million bond by posting an individual E*Trade brokerage account “with approximately $45 million” in assets last week, a federal court filing shows.
US District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto issued a restraining order barring any transfer, sale or other effort to dispose of the assets.
The order also directed E*Trade to notify federal prosecutors in Brooklyn if the value of the New Jersey-based account at any time falls below $5 million. E*Trade and other financial institutions may continue to credit any deposits, interest, dividends or other credits to Shkreli’s account, but are barred from taking offsets against the assets, the order said.
The court filing provides a limited glimpse at the potential net worth of the embattled 32-year-old pharmaceutical entrepreneur, who stands accused of looting a drug firm he controlled to pay debts he owed to investors in two of his former hedge funds.
Although the brokerage account hints at successful trading, the total net worth of Shkreli, who recently paid $2 million for a one-of-a-kind recording by iconic rap band Wu Tang Clan, could be higher.
Shkreli pleaded not guilty after his arrest and arraignment, as did Evan Greebel, a corporate attorney accused of aiding him in the alleged scheme.
Shkreli last year became a subject of widespread criticism, as well as a talking point in the 2016 presidential campaign, when he hiked the price of a Turing Pharmaceuticals medication called Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent—from $13.50 per pill to $750. The medication is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that afflicts people with weakened immune systems, including AIDS patients and pregnant women.
Shkreli resigned as Turing’s CEO after he was charged in the fraud case. He separately was ousted as CEO of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, a California-based company that is appealing the delisting of its shares from the Nasdaq Stock Market.