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Law360, New York (May 17, 2020, 11:54 AM EDT) -- A Brooklyn federal judge on Saturday rejected fraudster Martin Shkreli's bid for release from prison, finding there are no reported COVID-19 cases at the Pennsylvania facility where he is serving time and citing a government assessment that dismisses as "delusional" his boast that he can cure the deadly virus.
Shkreli, 37, who is most famous for jacking up the price of an HIV therapy drug prior to his arrest in 2015, will remain incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Complex in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, where he has a September 2023 release date, U.S. District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto ruled.
The defendant, who also is appealing the denial of a release request in the prison system, petitioned Judge Matsumoto in April claiming he has "devoted countless hours" to researching a potential cure for COVID-19, which as of Saturday had killed more than 87,000 people in America.
Releasing him would aid in that endeavor, he asserted.
But Judge Matsumoto dismissed that claim Saturday evening, highlighting a probation assessment calling the boast the same type of "delusional self-aggrandizing behavior" that precipitated the offenses for which he was convicted of fraud by a jury in 2017. Judge Matsumoto gave him seven years for looting assets from pharmaceutical company Retrophin Inc. to pay off investors in his hedge fund entities.
"In any event, Mr. Shkreli's self-described altruistic intentions do not provide a legal basis to grant his motion," the judge said.
Neither Shkreli's seasonal allergies nor a "childhood visit to a hospital for asthma" put him at any particular increased danger from the coronavirus, the judge also observed.
The decision hewed to many arguments federal prosecutors made in their request for Shkreli to remain in custody. Prosecutors also noted in their filing that Shkreli has had "multiple disciplinary infractions while incarcerated."
Shkreli's lawyer, Ben Brafman, said in an email that he was "very disappointed but not at all surprised" by the decision.
Shkreli is represented by Benjamin Brafman, Marc Agnifilo, Andrea Zellan, Jacob Kaplan and Teny Geragos of Brafman & Associates PC.
The government is represented by Claire Kedeshian, Laura Mantell and Thomas Price of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.
The case is U.S. v. Shkreli et al., case number 1:15-cr-00637, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
--Editing by Jill Coffey.
Update: This story has been updated to clarify Judge Matsumoto's order
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
