Price-Gouging Pharma CEO Arrested for Fraud

The world’s most hated CEO just got arrested. Schadenfreude abounds. Interestingly, the crime for which he was arrested apparently has absolutely nothing to do with the price-gouging for which he is hated. Some will argue that both are rooted in… what? Something about his character? Greed? Price-gouging could be rooted in greed, but the kind of fraud he’s accused of wasn’t aimed at profit, but rather at avoiding debt. So, some broader character flaw? Is there some flaw we can name? Or does his “bad character” simply consist in the fact that he is both willing to profit from other people’s desperation and willing to commit fraud to get himself out of trouble? >>>

LINK: Shkreli, CEO Reviled for Drug Price Gouging, Arrested on Securities Fraud Charges (by Christie Smythe and Keri Geiger for Bloomberg Business)

Martin Shkreli, the boyish drug company entrepreneur, who rocketed to infamy by jacking up the price of a life-saving pill from $13.50 to $750, was arrested by federal agents at his Manhattan apartment early Thursday morning and charged with securities fraud.
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Federal prosecutors accuse Shkreli of engaging in a complicated shell game after a hedge fund he started lost millions. He is alleged to have made secret payoffs and set up sham consulting arrangements. A New York lawyer, Evan Greebel, also arrested early Thursday, is accused of conspiring with him…..

What do you think?

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