Martin Shkreli, who is known as “Pharma Bro” and is one of the internet’s most hated figures, was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday.
Shkreli, 34, cried moments before he was sentenced, according to reports, and asked for “mercy” from a judge in U.S. District Court in New York.
“I was never motivated by money. I was trying to grow my stature and reputation,” he said, according to ABC News. “There is no government conspiracy to take down Martin Shkreli. I took down Martin Shkreli with my disgraceful and shameful actions.”
The former pharmaceuticals executive drew ire when he raised the price of an HIV drug from $13.50 to $750 per pill. On Friday he was sentenced for defrauding his hedge fund investors and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Since then his persona has grown odder. He bought a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album and called people who didn’t support Donald Trump during the 2016 election “stupid and poor.” He also harassed Teen Vogue writer Lauren Duca on Twitter and he changed his profile’s header image to a collage of photos of her.
More recently, he urged his Facebook followers to steal hair samples from Hillary Clinton during her book tour so he could prove she was a murder. In return, he said he would pay them $5,000 per hair.
A request to revoke his bail was made following his Facebook post. He called his post a “prank” and said “fuck the government” following his request for Clinton’s hair. He has been held without bail since September.
During Friday’s sentencing, his lawyer reportedly said there were times he wanted to punch Shkreli in the face.
At Shkreli’s sentencing, defense lawyer Ben Brafman says of his client: “There are times I want to hug him…There are times when I want to punch him in the face.”
— Rebecca Davis O’Brien (@rebeccadobrien) March 9, 2018
Ultimately, Shkreli’s sentence was less than half of what was sought by prosecutors, ABC News reports.
You can read more about his sentencing here.
