# Martin Shkreli's trial starts today {June 26, 2017}

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916>\
**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:** 5

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**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/81 "2017-09-14T15:31:14Z")

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> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> I don’t get\*\*\* why\*\*\* he wants Clinton’s hair. Anyone understand where he’s coming from?

What Ive gathered from various news reports is he wanted it to check DNA he supposedly has for her, I guess in order to clone her, for why? Cthulhu only knows.

Edit: Okay, forget that; **Merneith** has the straight dope on the dope.

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**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/82 "2017-09-14T15:38:22Z")

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> [@Roderick\_Femm](#):
>
> I think it will be interesting to compare his time in prison with that spent by Martha Stewart. Both guilty of white collar crimes (although his seems much worse) I suppose they will end up in the same kind of institution. Stewart came out and went on seamlessly with her life in the public eye. Shkreli, I predict, will not have that resilience.

I kknow nothing of Martha Stewart’s personality in real life, but her public persona was warm and gracious, and if she kept up that facade (if not actual self) in prison she’d do well during the incarceration. Shkreli is a punk-ass jerk who revels in pushing buttons and doesn’t give a damn about anyone else’s feelings or needs; he’s not going to go over well no matter where he’s housed, and no longer being kingpin of his own fantasy, but rather a despised underdog, I agree will break him.

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**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/83 "2017-09-14T15:46:03Z")

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> [@Merneith](#):
>
> He wants the hair because he claims to have DNA from the Seth Rich murder. He wants to test it against Clinton’s DNA to prove that she was there, jazzing and eating bon-bons, while Rich was murdered for leaking her perfidious emails to Julian Assange.

That is fascinating. Idiotic, but fascinating. I don’t follow the crazy too closely, but I thought the allegation was she had him murdered, not that she did it herself. Where was the Secret Service while she was killing this young man?

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**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/84 "2017-09-14T16:26:44Z")

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> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#):
>
> Shkreli is a punk-ass jerk who revels in pushing buttons and doesn’t give a damn about anyone else’s feelings or needs; he’s not going to go over well no matter where he’s housed, and no longer being kingpin of his own fantasy, but rather a despised underdog, I agree will break him.

He thought he was going to get almost zero sentence and spend it in Club Fed. If he is indeed at MDC Brooklyn, he’s in a very diverse population that isn’t going to have time for his shit and isn’t going to worship his money. But I would suspect that they would be fairly aware of this and keep him in solitary or in a small population for his own safety. Somehow I don’t see this guy surviving a week (or really two days) mixing with the general population. He’s too much of a human troll.

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**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/85 "2017-09-14T16:35:53Z")

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> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> That is fascinating. Idiotic, but fascinating. I don’t follow the crazy too closely, but I thought the allegation was she had him murdered, not that she did it herself. Where was the Secret Service while she was killing this young man?

If the conspiracy theorists are to believed, probably helping.

> [@Chimera](#):
>
> He thought he was going to get almost zero sentence and spend it in Club Fed. If he is indeed at MDC Brooklyn, he’s in a very diverse population that isn’t going to have time for his shit and isn’t going to worship his money. But I would suspect that they would be fairly aware of this and keep him in solitary or in a small population for his own safety. Somehow I don’t see this guy surviving a week (or really two days) mixing with the general population. He’s too much of a human troll.

Yeah, there are probably quite a number of people in prison who have or know someone who has HIV, or has or know someone who has a severe allergic reaction. I would be concerned about the well-being of a guy like this being in any situation where there is any interaction.

For his protection, he should spend every day of his 20 in solitary.

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**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/86 "2017-09-14T16:39:33Z")

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I always thought Martha Stewart kept a much lower profile after her jail time. Just keeping quiet and enjoying her stacks of Ameros.

It’s still the first thing a lot of people remember about her. That, and that she dressed in hot pants and heels when she was starting out in the business world. For which I applaud her courage if not her taste.

> **[Martha Stewart](https://books.google.com/books?id=TEsQTvnHtfAC&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=martha%2Bstewart%2Bhot%2Bpants&source=bl&ots=AdAIJKn_nr&sig=wrbDnMD2iMNhSTtXyUH2locKihQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF87D1jaXWAhXELSYKHex2AHEQ6AEITjAK#v=onepage&q=martha%20stewart%20hot%20pants&f=false)**
>
> Martha Stewart's advocacy of homemaking has made her a household name synonymous with meticulous decorating and hostessing. A business owner, author, editor, and former stockbroker and fashion model, Stewart established a brand that has spawned...

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**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/87 "2017-09-14T16:51:54Z")

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His sentencing will be interesting. He was on trial for fraud - nothing to do with drug pricing. To my understanding, the main consideration in fraud cases is how much money the victims lost. In this case, they lost zero - they actually made a lot of money. I understand the schadenfreude aspect of this, but also don’t delight in the idea of a judge basing sentences on stuff that has nothing to do with the criminal proceedings.

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**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/88 "2017-09-14T17:01:17Z")

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How much you lost isn’t the only issue. If I run a pyramid scheme and take 100,000 on false promises on a fake business, and just buy myself cars and vacations. Then take the last 10000 to Vegas and hit for 150,000 to pay everybody, it’s still fraud.

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**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/89 "2017-09-14T17:11:40Z")

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> [@Trom](#):
>
> His sentencing will be interesting. He was on trial for fraud - nothing to do with drug pricing. To my understanding, the main consideration in fraud cases is how much money the victims lost. In this case, they lost zero - they actually made a lot of money. I understand the schadenfreude aspect of this, but also don’t delight in the idea of a judge basing sentences on stuff that has nothing to do with the criminal proceedings.

I don’t think that’s an entirely accurate description of what the government charged him with. It charged him with lying to investors and then misappropriating money from his various funds, partly to pay off angry investors. If or how much anyone loses is just one factor in all that. Anyway, it certainly doesn’t sound as if everyone came out ahead.

From here -  
[https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2015-282.html](https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2015-282.html)

> [@SEC press release](#):
>
> According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal district court in Brooklyn:
> 
> [ul][li] Shkreli was portfolio manager for the hedge fund MSMB Capital Management LP from October 2009 to March 2014, and also served as portfolio manager of another hedge fund he founded and controlled named MSMB Healthcare LP.[/li]  
> [li]Shkreli misappropriated about $120,000 from MSMB Capital Management from October 2009 to July 2011 to unlawfully pay for food, clothing, medical expenses, clothing, office rent, and cash withdrawals.[/li]  
> [li]Shkreli misled investors and prospective investors in MSMB Capital Management about the fund’s size and performance, claiming for example in July 2010 to have “returned +35.77% since inception on 11/1/2009.” In fact, the fund generated losses of about 18 percent.[/li]  
> [li]In another example, Shkreli falsely stated in December 2010 that the fund had $35 million in assets under management. In fact, the fund had less than $1,000 in assets in its bank and brokerage accounts.[/li]  
> [li] Shkreli lied to one of MSMB Capital Management’s executing brokers in February 2011 about the fund’s ability to settle a sizeable short sale in a pharmaceutical stock in MSMB Capital Management’s account. This transaction resulted in losses of more than $7 million to the executing broker who had to cover the short position in the open market.[/li]  
> [li] Shkreli misappropriated $900,000 from MSMB Healthcare in 2013 to settle claims asserted by MSMB Capital Management’s executing broker arising out of the losses suffered in the short selling transaction.[/li]  
> [li] From September 2013 to March 2014, Shkreli, with assistance from Greebel, fraudulently induced Retrophin to issue stock and make cash payments to certain disgruntled investors in Shkreli’s hedge funds who were threatening legal action. Shkreli and Greebel had investors enter into agreements with Retrophin misleadingly stating the payments were for consulting services when in fact the purpose was the release of potential claims against Shkreli.[/li][/ul]

Shkreli was found guilty on two counts of fraud and one count of attempted fraud. Several other counts resulted in acquittal for him. So at least some of the governments charges were judged accurately. I don’t think it’s accurate to write this off as Shkreli being prosecuted and sentenced for something he didn’t do.

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**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/90 "2017-09-14T17:13:18Z")

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> [@Trom](#):
>
> His sentencing will be interesting. He was on trial for fraud - nothing to do with drug pricing. To my understanding, the main consideration in fraud cases is how much money the victims lost. In this case, they lost zero - they actually made a lot of money. I understand the schadenfreude aspect of this, but also don’t delight in the idea of a judge basing sentences on stuff that has nothing to do with the criminal proceedings.

I was under the impression that he was running some kind of Ponzi scheme and people lost money because of it.

What did happen, and how are they victims if they made money?

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**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/91 "2017-09-14T17:17:09Z")

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> [@wolfman](#):
>
> How much you lost isn’t the only issue. If I run a pyramid scheme and take 100,000 on false promises on a fake business, and just buy myself cars and vacations. Then take the last 10000 to Vegas and hit for 150,000 to pay everybody, it’s still fraud.

Right, understood. That’s along the lines of what Shkreli did. His hedge fund lost money, and he used funds from a more successful operation to repay investors in the first fund. The fraud came when he misrepresented the state of the accounts in between the initial losses and the eventual payout. It was dishonest accounting - not a premeditated attempt to bilk people out of their money.

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**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/92 "2017-09-14T17:26:26Z")

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> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> That is fascinating. Idiotic, but fascinating. I don’t follow the crazy too closely, but I thought the allegation was she had him murdered, not that she did it herself. Where was the Secret Service while she was killing this young man?

He also talked about cloning Clinton but in the specific Facebook post asking for his followers to get him some follicles, he specifically mentions that he wants to compare it with a DNA sequence he already has and refers to the Clinton Foundation being willing to KILL to protect its secrets. It’s that later that is the reference to Seth Rich’s murder. In a previous bout of idiocy, Shkreli offered 100k reward for information leading to Rich’s murderer being found.

There’s no logic to it all. It’s just nonsense. Of course he doesn’t have any sort of DNA sequence from HRC that would be connected to Rich’s murder. He just gets his kicks trolling people.

Although … on reread - maybe I misread it and he was saying that he wants to compare Hillary’s DNA to alien DNA to prove that she’s an inhuman Lizard Person and literally the Beast of Revelations. I don’t know. Probably best not to try and make it make sense.

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**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/93 "2017-09-14T17:37:17Z")

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> [@davidm](#):
>
> I was under the impression that he was running some kind of Ponzi scheme and people lost money because of it.
> 
> What did happen, and how are they victims if they made money?

[Here’s](https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-08-07/shkreli-s-delight-and-crypto-karma) Bloomberg lawyer-turned-humorous-columnist Matt Levine’s take on the sentencing.

> [@Matt Levine](#):
>
> This is not a defense to the fraud charges – you’re not allowed to steal money from people just because you later give it back – but it could be very important at sentencing. The Sentencing Guidelines for fraud focus mostly on the amount of loss, and because Shkreli wasn’t convicted of any frauds that actually harmed anyone, he might even avoid prison time

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**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/94 "2017-09-14T17:39:47Z")

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> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#):
>
> I’m pretty sure that’s just his default expression. Like how someone coined the term a few years back “bitchy resting face”; Shkreli has “pompous douchebag smirk resting face”.

Backpfeifengesicht.

a face badly in need of a fist

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**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:** [September 14, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/95 "2017-09-14T17:49:49Z")

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> [@SteveG1](#):
>
> Backpfeifengesicht.
> 
> a face badly in need of a fist

Excellent! Thank you!

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**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/96 "2017-09-14T19:41:52Z")

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> [@Trom](#):
>
> > [@\[davidm](#):
> >
> > ([http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20477227#post20477227](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20477227#post20477227))]  
> > I was under the impression that he was running some kind of Ponzi scheme and people lost money because of it.
> > 
> > What did happen, and how are they victims if they made money?
> 
> [Here’s](https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-08-07/shkreli-s-delight-and-crypto-karma) Bloomberg lawyer-turned-humorous-columnist Matt Levine’s take on the sentencing.
> 
> > [@Matt Levine](#):
> >
> > This is not a defense to the fraud charges – you’re not allowed to steal money from people just because you later give it back – but it could be very important at sentencing. The Sentencing Guidelines for fraud focus mostly on the amount of loss, and because Shkreli wasn’t convicted of any frauds that actually harmed anyone, he might even avoid prison time

The part you quote there from Levine is Levine discussing the argument that Shkreli’s defense lawyer is making. The prosecutor’s are going to argue differently, and, as Levine points out -

> [@Levine](#):
>
> Or not, of course: “Prosecutors are expected to argue the intended losses of the fraud were much higher,” though even so, the hedge-fund frauds were much smaller than the alleged Retrophin fraud. (They could also ask the judge “to factor in the conduct involving Retrophin despite the acquittals.”)

Also, I note that the sentancing guidelines here, with Fraud sentancing starting on p.88 really only takes in the amount of money lost as factors for calculating bonus damages applies to the base damage. The base damage is:

> [@sentencing guidelines linked above](#):
>
> **§2B1.1.** Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft; Offenses Involving Stolen Property; Property Damage or Destruction; Fraud and Deceit; Forgery; Offenses Involving Altered or Counterfeit Instruments Other than Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States
> 
> (a) Base Offense Level:
> 
> (1)  
> **7,** if (A) the defendant was convicted of an offense referenced to  
> this guideline; and (B) that offe  
> nse of conviction has a statutory  
> maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years or more; or
> 
> (2)  
> **6,** otherwise.

That 6 or 7 means look for Offense Level 6 or 7 on the sentencing table, which is on p. 419 (this is clearly the work of a Dungeon Master). So you look up page 419 and then find Offense Level 6 & 7, which is in Zone A, and then you look over to see how it’s affected by the defendent’s Criminal History Points (which, I’m pretty sure, Shkreli doesn’t have any criminal history). So it says, 0-6, which would be 0-6 months of imprisonment. That would be for each of the three counts.

So the judge’s sentence of Shrkeli is not necessarily related to how much money he lost. Only, if he’d lost a bunch of money, he’d have had additional penalities. It would have moved him up a few Offense points.

So admittedly, Shrkeli is not facing a lot of hard time, here.

That’s not nearly the same thing as saying that Shrkeli would be sentenced by “a judge basing sentences on stuff that has nothing to do with the criminal proceedings.” which was your original take on the subject, in [post #87](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20477161#post20477161).

Also -

> [@Trom](#):
>
> Right, understood. That’s along the lines of what Shkreli did. His hedge fund lost money, and he used funds from a more successful operation to repay investors in the first fund. The fraud came when he misrepresented the state of the accounts in between the initial losses and the eventual payout. **It was dishonest accounting - not a premeditated attempt to bilk people out of their money.**

I don’t think this is quite accurate, either. From Martt Levine’s explanation, which you posted previously:

> [@Matt Levine Explains It All](#):
>
> The story of the charges against Shkreli was that he lied to investors to start a hedge fund, lost all its money, lied to investors about it, started another hedge fund, lost all its money, lied to investors about it, started a pharmaceutical company called Retrophin Inc., took it public, made hundreds of millions of dollars for Retrophin’s investors, and took some of Retrophin’s money illegally to pay back the investors in the hedge funds. … Shkreli was convicted of one count of fraud for each of the two hedge funds, plus a fraud scheme “in which he tried to quietly control a huge portion of Retrophin stock.” But he was acquitted of the charge of looting Retrophin to pay off his hedge funds’ investors.

So it wasn’t the tricky accounting, it was the lying about the hedge funds plus bonus stock manipulation.

At any rate - I don’t feel obligated to assume that he wasn’t trying to bilk people, at least in part, even if he paid back some of his investors, eventually.

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**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/97 "2017-09-14T20:22:52Z")

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> [@Merneith](#):
>
> …
> 
> That’s not nearly the same thing as saying that Shrkeli would be sentenced by “a judge basing sentences on stuff that has nothing to do with the criminal proceedings.” which was your original take on the subject, in [post #87](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20477161#post20477161).

I made no claim that would be the case. I said I am uncomfortable with the idea of judges using things unrelated to a criminal case when deciding on a sentence. Having never been sentenced and not being a judge or lawyer, I don’t know how common it is. I, personally, just don’t like the idea of it.

> [@Merneith](#):
>
> So it wasn’t the tricky accounting, it was the lying about the hedge funds plus bonus stock manipulation.

Sounds like dishonest accounting to me. He literally lied about the state of investor accounts. He did a bad thing, and he should feel bad. No argument here. However, my point was that this type of fraud is different than what Madoff pulled or the shady broker siphoning off retiree’s money to offshore accounts with the explicit intention of stealing it.

> [@Merneith](#):
>
> At any rate - I don’t feel obligated to assume that he wasn’t trying to bilk people, at least in part, even if he paid back some of his investors, eventually.

You’re absolutely entitled to your point of view. My read is that Shkreli was in over his head and desperate to try to get back in the black. In the pursuit of that goal he fraudulently misrepresented the situation, but in the end his scheme actually worked.

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**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:** [September 14, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/98 "2017-09-14T20:52:27Z")

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> [@Trom](#):
>
> My read is that Shkreli was in over his head and desperate to try to get back in the black. In the pursuit of that goal he fraudulently misrepresented the situation, but in the end his scheme actually worked.

So why will he be allowed to keep the money he made off his illegal scheme? Why isn’t that forfeited? I thought we didn’t allow people to profit from crimes?

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**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/99 "2017-09-14T20:53:22Z")

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> [@Trom](#):
>
> My read is that Shkreli was in over his head and desperate to try to get back in the black. In the pursuit of that goal he fraudulently misrepresented the situation, but in the end his scheme actually worked.

Did you miss this part:  
“Shkreli misappropriated about $120,000 from MSMB Capital Management from October 2009 to July 2011 to unlawfully pay for food, clothing, medical expenses, clothing[sic], office rent, and cash withdrawals.”

Misappropriation = stealing more than $100,000, I guess.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-shkrelis-trial-starts-today-june-26-2017/789916/100 "2017-09-14T21:24:13Z")

</div>

> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#):
>
> So why will he be allowed to keep the money he made off his illegal scheme? Why isn’t that forfeited? I thought we didn’t allow people to profit from crimes?

This is so broad I don’t know how to approach answering it. What money are you referring to?

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