Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Shkreli, arrested for jacking up the price of a life saving drug by 5,000%

A 32-year-old entrepreneur was arrested for jacking up the price of a drug, used to treat life-threatening diseases, by 5,000%.

According to Japan Times, the former hedge fund manager, Martin Shkreli was convicted of purchasing a pharmaceutical company and drastically raising the price of a life-saving prescription by more than fiftyfold. On Thursday, he was arrested in a gray hoodie on securities fraud charges and was taken to federal court in Brooklyn to appear.

He was labeled as a persistent self-promoting figure, who used Twitter to present himself as "the world's most eligible bachelor". Previously, he stepped into the hip-hop world after he purchased a quite expensive unreleased album by the Wu-Tang Clan.

His arrest has pleased many people online. His arrest news has been taken as a joke on social media as people are making fun about a judge ratcheting up his bail and the lawyers increasing up his hourly fees by 5,000 percent. No instant comments were made by his attorneys.

His act of jacking up the price of a life-saving drug was marked as a Ponzi-like scheme by U.S. prosecutors, as mentioned by Reuters. Social media slammed him heavily by commenting that Shkreli was getting what he deserved.

The top hashtag and keyword related, defining his arrest on Twitter was #Karma. But expensive drug pricing is not the only act causing his downfall. YouTube footage was released last night which shows Shkreli answering a phone call at 1:22:10 of a person, who identifies himself as a "special agent" and after that Shkreli appears to hang up.

Shkreli is a chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc (KBIO.O). He was charged in a federal condemnation due to his management of hedge fund MSMB Capital Management and biopharmaceutical company Retrophin Inc (RTRX.O).

At a news conference, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said that Shkreli "essentially ran his companies like a Ponzi scheme, where he used each subsequent company to pay off defrauded investors in the prior company."

Along with Shkreli, his attorney Evan Greebel was also taken into FBI custody, as reported by Daily News. After the Brooklyn Federal Court hearing, Shkreli was released on $5 million bail and Greebel on $1 million.

Shkreli pulled a "securities fraud trifecta of lies, deceit and greed," said FBI Assistant Director Diego Rodriguez. "While the charges today are significant, they are but one example of what's left to come."

The heavily built Shkreli is also reported to punch a photographer in the face amid a wild crowd outside the courthouse.