‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli Accused of Violating Lifetime Ban from Drug Industry

“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli is allegedly violating his court-ordered lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry by trading stocks and boasting about his market activities on social media, federal and state prosecutors claim.

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from six states have asked a federal judge to hold the former pharmaceutical executive in contempt. They are seeking to force Shkreli to surrender his trading profits and any pharmaceutical stocks he currently possesses.

Despite his 2022 lifetime ban, which stemmed from a fraud conviction, and a nearly $65 million judgment against him in that case, Shkreli, 43, has reportedly referred to himself as “the GOAT of binary events.” He has allegedly bragged to social media followers about making $20 million on a past stock short, according to court documents.

Federal regulators contend that Shkreli began these alleged violations shortly after his release from prison in 2022. He was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy for looting Retrophin, a drug company he founded, and served most of a seven-year sentence. He received the lifetime industry ban in February 2022.

Prosecutors allege that Shkreli has been livestreaming stock trades on his YouTube channel, despite being barred from participating in the drug industry. He has also reportedly dedicated significant time to criticizing small biotech firms and encouraging viewers to “short this stock.”

In one instance cited by prosecutors, Shkreli allegedly targeted Cassava Sciences, a company developing an Alzheimer’s treatment, ahead of disappointing clinical trial results in November 2024. His brokerage account reportedly increased by more than $700,000 shortly before the announcement, growing from $138,200 to $841,000, though authorities did not attribute the entire gain solely to this trade.

According to the allegations, Shkreli has traded shares in more than 60 pharmaceutical companies since July 2022, including major firms like Pfizer, Moderna, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk.

He reportedly told viewers in April 2025, “I’m showing you how to trade and invest in biotech... It doesn’t matter what trades I make because I can always find a couple of biotech stocks to smoke.” The convicted fraudster is also accused of remarking that one biotech firm’s stock “dropped a bunch since I recommended the short.”

In November 2025, Shkreli allegedly announced he was betting against Capricor Therapeutics, a biotech firm working on an experimental treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The company’s stock reportedly fell 17% following his public warning. However, the following month, Capricor announced positive clinical trial results, causing its shares to surge more than 370%, according to federal filings. Shkreli, who had reportedly invested heavily in the short bet, later stated that his trading account had been depleted.

Regulators also flagged a new trading challenge Shkreli reportedly launched in June, involving a portfolio with a reported starting balance of $10 million. Authorities suspect his publicly disclosed trades are only a portion of his activity, citing references Shkreli made to other brokerage accounts.

During one livestream, Shkreli allegedly said, “I have some other accounts that I’[d] show you, but, like, I know feds are watching, so f–k that.”

The court filing identifies Shkreli’s significant other, Chelsea Voss, and his sister, Leonora Izerne, as individuals who may have helped facilitate his trading activities. In one livestream, Shkreli reportedly asked Voss for $30,000 to cover a potential margin call. Regulators are requesting that both women be ordered to preserve any evidence related to Shkreli’s transactions.

The FTC and prosecutors, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, are seeking a sworn accounting from Shkreli of all his pharmaceutical stock trades since February 2022 and an independent financial audit at his own expense. They also want a court-imposed penalty equivalent to his profits from these trades, with interest, without allowing deductions for any losses incurred.

Regulators are urging U.S. District Judge Denise Cote to establish escalating penalties, which could include additional fines and potential incarceration, should Shkreli fail to comply with court orders or continue to violate the ban. The ban was upheld by a federal appeals court in January 2024, and the Supreme Court declined to review his case later that year.

Shkreli became widely notorious in 2015 when his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, significantly increased the price of the drug Daraprim from $17.50 to $750 per pill. He was ordered to repay $64.6 million in profits from the drug, a sum that remains unpaid, according to authorities. He was released from prison in 2022 after serving most of his sentence for securities fraud.

The Post has sought comment from Shkreli.