​FTC and seven states seek contempt ruling against Shkreli over pharma ban

Martin Shkreli speaking to the press in 2017 after the jury issued a verdict in his case at the US direct court for the eastern district in New York City. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven US states have alleged that pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli repeatedly violated a lifetime ban on participating in the pharmaceutical industry, and they are asking a judge to hold him in contempt.

In a motion filed on Tuesday in US district court in New York City, the FTC and its state co-plaintiffs allege that 43-year-old Shkreli – nicknamed the “Pharma Bro” – has traded stocks in at least 60 pharmaceutical companies and publicly commented on their businesses since his release from prison in May 2022.