Closing Arguments In Fraud Trial Of 'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Jurors in Brooklyn federal court are hearing closing arguments in the trial of Martin Shkreli.
The former pharmaceutical executive is accused of defrauding investors in his hedge funds and looting the drug company he founded to pay back those investors.
Prosecutor Alixandra Smith told a jury Thursday that Shkreli repeatedly lied to investors about how much money was in one of the funds as it was going under.
She said he assured investors that he was managing $40 million at a time when there as only a few hundred dollars in his firm's brokerage account.
The defense will give its closing argument later in the day.
Before his 2015 arrest, Shkreli was best known for raising the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent and targeting his critics with online rants.
The 34-year-old did not to testify at his trial.
If convicted, he could spend up to 20 years in prison.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
