Biotech and Pharma

Pharma bro Martin Shkreli: 'I don't think I'm going to jail'

Key Points
  • 'I'm feeling great, doing great,' Shkreli says in an interview.
  • He says some investors he was accused of defrauding congratulated him on his acquittal on several charges.
  • Shkreli's sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
Pharma bro Martin Shkreli: 'I don't think I'm going to jail'
VIDEO0:4500:45
Pharma bro Martin Shkreli: 'I don't think I'm going to jail'

Convicted fraudster Martin Shkreli said Tuesday "I don't think I'm going to jail" — and suggested that "just being a flamboyant and personable figure" landed him in prosecutors' gun sights.

"I'm feeling great, doing great," Shkreli despite, being found guilty on Aug. 4 of three of eight federal criminal charges he faced.

His latest comments came during an interview with Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo, in which he also said he hoped the three guilty verdicts "are reversed or dismissed."

Shkreli, 34, told Fox that a former "very senior person" at the Securities and Exchange Commission had told his lawyer that "If I kept my mouth shut, none of this [prosecution] would have happened."

Shkreli was referring to his 2015 decision, as then-CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, to raise the price of the antiparasite drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent — and then to publicly defend that decision in brash terms.

Federal prosecutors months later charged Shkreli with a raft of criminal counts that were unconnected to the Daraprim pricing imbroglio.

"I think it's a sad day in this country where just being a flamboyant and personable figure results in saying, 'Look at this guy's records and let's see what we have on them,'" Shkreli said.

In fact, Shkreli had been the subject of a SEC investigation long before he gained notoriety for the Daraprim pricing decision. He was also the subject of a criminal investigation by the FBI beforehand.

The criminal case related to accusations that Shkreli defrauded multiple people who had invested in two hedge funds he previously ran. Specifically, he was accused of lying about the performance of those funds, and then refusing to redeem their money as promised.

He also was accused of looting another drug company he founded, Retrophin, out of stock and cash for the purposes of repaying those investors when they clamored for their money. The Retrophin-fueled repayments left all of the investors who testified at Shkreli's trial with more money than what they had originally invested in his hedge funds.

The jury in Shkreli's trial convicted him of two counts of securities fraud related to the hedge funds and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud related to Retrophin. He was acquitted of charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which were related to the hedge funds as well as to Retrophin.

Shkreli told Fox Business that despite the conviction, "My investors are happy."

"Some of them emailed me, congratulated me on getting acquitted on most of the charges," he said. "Many of them reluctantly testified because the FBI pressured them to do so."

Shkreli, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced. However, he is likely to get much less than that. No date has been scheduled for sentencing.

Shkreli's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said after the conviction that he expected federal sentencing guidelines to recommend a relatively light sentence.

And Shkreli, during his Fox Business interview, said he expected no prison term.

He added: "I don't think I'll have to forfeit any money" when he is sentenced.

WATCH: Co-worker says Shkreli 'mentally unstable'

Martin Shkreli worker called him 'mentally unstable,' and a 'scam artist' as she threatened to expose his lies to investors
VIDEO0:5300:53
Martin Shkreli worker called him 'mentally unstable,' and a 'scam artist' as she threatened to expose his lies to investors