Evan Greebel, an attorney who once advised Martin Shkreli's drug companies, has been convicted of fraud after a ten-week trial. He was the guy who helped the so-called Pharma Bro pay back jilted investors with stock in Retrophin, a company Shkreli founded. His role was to help cook the books to make the payouts look like consulting contracts and settlements.
Shkreli himself was convicted in August for crimes related to the scheme. His legal team tried—and failed—to paint a picture of a possibly autistic savant who made a big bet and lost, but ultimately didn't hurt anyone since his investors profited in the end. Greebel's lawyer, on the other hand, tried to dig up dirt on government witnesses and to paint a picture of an innocent man whose only crime was happening to know the most hated guy in America.
"We’re just shocked by the decision," Greebel's attorney Reed Brodsky said, according to Bloomberg. "Shkreli himself is so toxic that it's hard to, in today’s environment, get justice."
That isn't an absurd argument. Federal prosecutors made a big show of indicting Shkreli about four months after he jacked up the price of a lifesaving drug by more than 5,000 percent. Between his sleazy business practices and stunts like buying the only copy of legendary rap album and threatening to hide it on top of a mountain, Shkreli made it very difficult to find jurors who said they could be objective about such an obnoxious troll.
Greebel was apparently expressionless as he found out that he'll face up to 20 years in prison, Bloomberg reports. He's currently out on bail awaiting sentencing.
Interestingly, the guilty verdict could affect Shkreli's sentencing, which is scheduled for February 21. He wasn't convicted of looting Retrophin, but now that another judge has determined the crime occurred, the separate judge in charge of determining Shkreli's punishment could take that into consideration.
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