Martin Shkreli’s former company lawyer convicted for fraud

A former lawyer for Martin Shkreli's companies might end up in prison after he was convicted by a jury. He has been convicted of scheming with the former biotech executive to defraud a pharmaceutical firm.

Evan Greebel, who advised companies including Retrophin Inc, was yesterday found guilty of helping Shkreli steal $11 million from the company to pay back investors after Shkreli, a hedge-fund-manager-turned-drug-executive, lost their money in risky trades.

"We're just shocked by the decision," Reed Brodsky, a lawyer for Greebel, said after the verdict, Bloomberg reported. According Brodsky, Greebel's association with Shkreli is to be blamed for the verdict. "Shkreli himself is so toxic that it's hard to, in today's environment, get justice." Shkreli incited public outrage for aggressive drug-pricing tactics in 2015.

Shkreli, who was convicted in August on charges of defrauding investors, is now in prison while he awaits sentencing (See: Brooklyn jury finds price-gouger Martin Shkreli guilty of defrauding investors). Shkreli was ousted from Retrophin in September 2014 and went on to found Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, where he ratcheted the price of a life-saving drug by over 5,000 per cent. He was charged with fraud four months later in December 2015.

Greebel was found guilty of helping Shkreli device sham settlement and consulting contracts to repay investors, using assets from Retrophin, as also helping Shkreli in a share-control scheme.

Greebel, who was outside counsel to Shkreli's former company Retrophin, faced charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, according to the US government.

Greebel, 44, was a partner at the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman when he worked for Retrophin. Greebel later joined the firm Kaye Scholer, but resigned following his arrest in December 2015.

According to prosecutors, the wire fraud count could see Greebel face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.