# Martin Shkreli's trial starts today {June 26, 2017} **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 26, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916 "2017-06-26T14:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/21 "2017-06-27T18:38:11Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Shkreli was targeted by the government for reasons unrelated to the actual charges against him. They went on a fishing expedition and found something. Let’s be clear: he’s really facing jail for raising drug prices so high. > > If the feds want you, they’ll get you for something. Everyone does something illegal, and they don’t always even know about it. If you are in business, you’re almost certainly committing several violations a day. The more complex the business, the more violations. The timeline of events contradicts your interpretation of them. In other words: you are wrong again. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/22 "2017-06-27T18:49:23Z")
[Shkreli’s lawyers asked for a mistrial this morning but it was rejected](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/27/judge-rejects-defense-bid-for-mistrial-in-martin-shkreli-fraud-case.html). ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/23 "2017-06-27T18:58:48Z")
Where are his victims? I keep reading about him defrauding people yet I never see any of those people mentioned, unlike the Madoff case where they were identifiable and quite interviewable. A search for Shkreli’s victims turned up a webpage thanking the Eastern Distict court for putting a stop to their 250% returns on their investment, and one of Shkreli’s defenses is that all of his “victims” made out like bandits. So this does actually sound like a technical violation that the feds decided to get him for. But let’s see what the jury says. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/24 "2017-06-27T23:20:31Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > In other words: you are wrong again. Surprise, surprise 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/25 "2017-06-27T23:39:37Z")
He took money from a company he owned to cover other problems. Yes, he owned it **BUT** …(I like big buts and I can’t deny it…) that is still fraudulent. For instance, if a guy loots his company to bankruptcy, then his debtors get Trumped. Even if there were no investors. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/26 "2017-06-28T02:05:47Z")
They were already investigating him before his public disgrace. So the timeline doesn’t fit that they were only going after him for that. And if what you said was true, then there’d be a whole lot more scum behind bars. Hell, Trump would have been incarcerated even before he ever entertained the idea of running for president (which was around 2000, IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/27 "2017-06-28T09:09:10Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Shkreli was targeted by the government for reasons unrelated to the actual charges against him. They went on a fishing expedition and found something. Let’s be clear: he’s really facing jail for raising drug prices so high. If this were true, I’d still be OK with it. Anyway, he gets his day in court, before a jury of his peers, to explain why he shouldn’t go to jail. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/28 "2017-06-28T09:35:53Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > If this were true, I’d still be OK with it. > > Anyway, he gets his day in court, before a jury of his peers, to explain why he shouldn’t go to jail. yeah, but the whole point of this Pit thread is that the bastard doesn’t deserve a day in court. And, besides-- there’s no way he can stand before a jury of his peers… Because juries are composed of human beings. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/29 "2017-06-28T14:10:17Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > yeah, but the whole point of this Pit thread is that the bastard doesn’t deserve a day in court. To be clear: that was not my point when I started this thread. That may be your point, but it was not and is not mine. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/30 "2017-06-28T18:37:27Z")
Let’s hope the jury goes down to the quarry and throws Shkreli down there. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/31 "2017-06-29T09:28:16Z")
Joe Arpaio is playing the stupid card in Arizona, but Martin Shkreli is playing the crazy card in New York! > **[Martin Shkreli's lawyer: 'Maybe he's nuts but that doesn't make him guilty'](https://money.cnn.com/2017/06/28/news/companies/shkreli-fraud-trial/index.html)** > > A federal prosecutor called former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli a fraudster in the opening statements of his criminal fraud trial, but his defense attorney said his client might be strange, but he's not guilty. > [@](#): > > His attorney told the court that Shkreli was not guilty of the charges and had ultimately made money for his investors. > > “Martin Shkreli never intended to defraud anyone and that no one in this case was defrauded. Investors who made millions will come here and begrudgingly admit they are not victims,” he told the jury. > > “Is he strange? Yes. Do you find him weird? Yes,” said Brafman. “Will the witnesses tell you that they laughed at him? Yes.” ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/32 "2017-06-29T12:55:58Z")
Will the witnesses say they laughed at him?..yes!, Will they confess to mocking him behind his back? Yes! Will the witnesses say they wanted to punch his despicable face?..Yes! Your honor, I want to punch my client in the face right now and the only reason I’m not doing it is I want to get my hands on some of his incredibly huge pot of money. Its what makes the mocking and face-punching worthwhile. It would be fun to be his lawyer! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/33 "2017-06-29T13:48:56Z")
This argument doesn’t even make sense to me. They can wind up better off all they want. That doesn’t change whether he defrauded them. You defraud my grandma to give you money for your bullshit snake oil. Grandma gets some and throws up, and goes to the hospital, where her health complaint is actually dealt with. So she’s better off. You still defrauded her. Sure, in a civil case, you might not be able to get damages. But you still broke the law, and the law presumably exists for a reason. A lot of corruption exists because everyone involved makes out better than when they started. It’s still corruption, and it’s still illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/34 "2017-07-07T21:04:13Z")
[Judge: Shut up, Mr. Shkreli.](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/05/judge-orders-martin-shkreli-to-stop-commenting-on-trial-around-court.html) > [@](#): > > A federal judge Wednesday ordered “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli to stop commenting on his ongoing securities fraud trial in and around the public areas of a New York courthouse after Shkreli went on a five-minute rant to reporters last week. > > “I was shocked that there were these comments, these statements,” said Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, referring to Shkreli’s outbursts. “There’s a great risk jurors will be exposed.” > [@](#): > > Matsumoto also said she was afraid that jurors in the trial would end up hearing what Shkreli said if he continued talking; she was particularly concerned that he spoke to reporters while walking out of court last week after his rant. > > “All your client has to do is stop talking in the courthouse and around the perimeter of the courthouse,” Matsumoto said. “This isn’t going to help Mr. Shkreli in the end.” ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/35 "2017-07-07T21:13:29Z")
Is he out on bail? Wouldn’t flapping his lips, or ignoring an order to STFU be a violation of his bond? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/36 "2017-07-10T18:18:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Any competent DA would have him tagged as a flight risk and already pulled his passport. > > So maybe. Slight hijack: how does that work? Do they say “hand it over” and lock him up until he does? Presumably they can add him to the “do not fly” list which would keep airlines from letting him board an international flight, but as far as I know you don’t need to show a passport when exiting a country by car, and presumably the other country (which would have to be Canada or Mexico, by car) is under no obligation to honor that restriction. Leaving by commercial boat might pose the same issues as flying, but a private charter might not follow those rules either. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/37 "2017-07-10T18:58:50Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Slight hijack: how does that work? Do they say “hand it over” and lock him up until he does? Presumably they can add him to the “do not fly” list which would keep airlines from letting him board an international flight, **but as far as I know you don’t need to show a passport when exiting a country by car,** and presumably the other country (which would have to be Canada or Mexico, by car) is under no obligation to honor that restriction. > > Leaving by commercial boat might pose the same issues as flying, but a private charter might not follow those rules either. emphasis added You don’t need to show a passport to leave the US, but you do need to show a passport to enter Canada (and I presume Mexico as well). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2017, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/38 "2017-07-27T05:04:05Z")
[Closing arguments Thursday morning](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MARTIN_SHKRELI_TRIAL_NYOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-07-27-00-37-41)! ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/39 "2017-07-28T15:57:46Z")
So when does the guilty verdict come out? I wanna watch that sickening smirk on his face disappear. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/40 "2017-07-28T20:54:15Z")
He probably won’t stop smirking until he finds out that Club Fed is nothing like the movies make it look. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916.md?page=3)