FTC Seeks Contempt Order Against Shkreli Over Pharma Ban Violations
Regulators allege the former drug executive repeatedly defied a 2022 lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry.
The Federal Trade Commission and seven states have asked a federal judge to hold Martin Shkreli in contempt, alleging the former pharmaceutical executive flagrantly and repeatedly violated a 2022 court order barring him from the industry for life.
The FTC's filing centers on evidence the agency says demonstrates Shkreli did not comply with the lifetime ban imposed against him three years ago. The agency brought the action alongside a coalition of state co-plaintiffs, signaling a coordinated enforcement push across multiple jurisdictions.
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Shkreli rose to national notoriety after his company Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of the life-saving antiparasitic drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent in 2015. The 2022 order that forms the basis of the current contempt request was the result of earlier FTC litigation targeting anti-competitive conduct in the pharmaceutical sector.
Contempt proceedings in federal court can carry significant consequences, including fines or other sanctions intended to compel compliance with an existing court order. Whether the court finds sufficient grounds to hold Shkreli in contempt will now be a matter for the presiding federal judge to determine based on the evidence presented by both sides.
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