Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has joined the Federal Trade Commission and six other states in asking a federal judge to hold former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli in civil contempt.
The coalition alleges Shkreli repeatedly violated a 2022 court order that banned him for life from participating in the pharmaceutical industry. A motion and supporting brief filed Tuesday say he has publicly traded stocks in at least 60 pharmaceutical companies and broadcast opinions about the business and management of drug makers since his release from prison in May 2022.
The earlier order followed a federal antitrust case involving Daraprim, a treatment for toxoplasmosis. The court found that Shkreli organized a scheme that blocked generic competition and allowed the drug’s price to rise from $17.50 to $750 per tablet. The ruling imposed the lifetime industry ban and ordered more than $64 million in disgorgement.
The new filing asks the court to require Shkreli to show why he should not be held in contempt. The coalition is seeking sanctions that would require him to sell any pharmaceutical-company stock he owns and pay a fine equal to profits from pharmaceutical stock trading, with interest and without offsetting losses.
The states and FTC also ask for escalating consequences for future violations. The filing identifies financial penalties and possible incarceration among the measures the court could use to enforce compliance.
The contempt request is an allegation that remains subject to court review. Shkreli will have an opportunity to respond before the judge decides whether the 2022 injunction was violated and whether sanctions are appropriate.
