Report: 'Pharma Bro' Now in Solitary Confinement

Move follows claims Shkreli was still running a business
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 2, 2019 2:53 AM CDT
Report: 'Pharma Bro' Now in Solitary Confinement
This courtroom sketch shows former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli, left, seated next to his lawyer Ben Brafman in federal court, Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York.   (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

"Pharma bro" Martin Shkreli is no longer calling the shots at drug company Phoenixus AG—unless he's managed to smuggle a cellphone into solitary confinement. Sources tell Forbes that Shkreli, who is serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison for defrauding investors, was moved to the Special Housing Unit at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, NJ, last month after reports that he was using an illegal phone to run the business. The Bureau of Prisons declined to confirm that Shkreli is in solitary confinement, but it said the allegations, which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, are "under investigation." Shkreli's lawyer declined to comment.

"When there are allegations of misconduct, they are thoroughly investigated and appropriate action is taken if such allegations are proven true," a bureau spokesperson tells the New York Daily News. Fellow inmate Justin Liverman, a former member of the Crackas With Attitude hacking crew, tells Forbes that Shkreli was still "in the SHU" as of Sunday. He says Shkreli—who was reportedly protected by inmate bodyguards nicknamed "D Block" and "Krispy"—would have had little trouble obtaining a contraband phone in Fort Dix, which he describes as "cellphone heaven." "There are hundreds of phones on this compound," he says. "You can either rent phone time or buy one for $1,000." (More Martin Shkreli stories.)

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