Con man, brilliant mind, or myth? Jury in Shkreli trial now decides

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pr0t0

Ars Scholae Palatinae
610
“one of the most brilliant minds of his generation,”
Hmm. You'd think he could have avoided arrest, imprisonment, and trial then.

The brilliant ones are those that deceive and defraud, gain millions or billions in the process, and you never hear their name or see their face. Otherwise, you might was well rob a liquor store.
 
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cerberusTI

Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
7,199
Subscriptor++
My case is a silly witch hunt perpetrated by self-serving prosecutors. Thankfully my amazing attorney sent them back to junior varsity where they belong. Drain the swamp. Drain the sewer that is the DOJ. MAGA

He appears to have been caught, can we get to the part where we burn the witch now?
 
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BeowulfSchaeffer

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“Drain the swamp. Drain the sewer that is the DOJ. MAGA [Make America Great Again]”

Ah yes, the cries of the guilty railing against a system that prevents them from breaking the law. Blowing that dog whistle won't do you any good here.

Except it may. The elite of this country have perpetuated the myth of the american dream in which all citizens who work hard may be able to join them. The truth is that the vast majority of the country are poor to middle class. As of 2014, 45 million Americans live below the poverty line. "The 2010 figure for a family of 4 with no children under 18 years of age is $22,541, while the figure for a family of 4 with 2 children under 18 is $22,162. -US Census (22k for a family of 4. Think about that. 45 million below that line. I have a modest home in NJ in a high tax area. My mortgage and taxes as well as insurance, heating and electric costs are 22k.

The media (controlled by the elites) reinforces the "dream" through reality TV and Fox News so the population never wakes up.

The jury may acquit because they buy into the "poor rich kid" syndrome, because they have been conditions to do so.
 
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The defense, on the other hand, brought props, wild tales, colorful questions, hints at office romance, and an unusual defense: that Shkreli—who’s allegedly brilliant, well-intentioned, but awkward—may have lied about some things but ultimately paid everyone back and more some.

Hell the fuck no! You don't get to claim that shit when you are the same douche-bro that massively raised the price of a lifesaving drug to cover his extravagant lifestyle and hide massive losses at those hedge funds. Let us not forget that not long ago Shrkeli was the one making all the smug arrogant faces of the world at a congressional deposition over the blatant gouging and couldn't stop gloating over social media.
 
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THavoc

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“My case is a silly witch hunt perpetrated by self-serving prosecutors. Thankfully my amazing attorney sent them back to junior varsity where they belong. Drain the swamp. Drain the sewer that is the DOJ. MAGA [Make America Great Again]”

I look forward to seeing that smug look on your face disappear when you realize you're going to jail for a long time.
 
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Enochrewt

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It doesn't matter if they made money off Shkreli's deals. Usually people do illegal things with money to make money, not lose it.

If I rob a convenience store, run outside and hand all the money out to strangers, it doesn't make me less culpable in the robbery. I hope the jury sees this. I also hope the sentencing judge sets an example for these cases in the future.

edit: Outside is one word!
 
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zbang

Smack-Fu Master, in training
61
The brilliant ones are those that deceive and defraud, gain millions or billions in the process, and you never hear their name or see their face. Otherwise, you might was well rob a liquor store.

One of the old saying of Wall St is "The bulls make money, the bears make money, and the pigs get slaughtered."
 
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Fatesrider

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Is the Death Penalty under consideration?

I kid, but only a little bit.
I wouldn't have even gone there.

This guy's actions don't amount to death. Con men deserve to suffer. Kill him, and he doesn't suffer. He's just compost.

For him, I'm more than happy to see him in prison dropping the soap in the shower just to wipe the smug off his face...

Remember, this trial wasn't about his egregious price gouging of an inexpensive to produce drug for personal enrichment. This was about him being a shitty investment schemer who robbed Peter to pay Paul. That's not the hallmark of a "brilliant investment broker". It's pretty much the hallmark of an incompetent boob.
 
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Tiernoc

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Seriously. The cherry on top of all of this will be when Trump pardons him :)

Somehow I don't see that happening. There's no real evidence that Trump gives a damn about anyone outside of his immediate family, and with Shkreli being condemned across the aisle it's not even like he would gain some partisan benefit from pardoning him.

As Trump would say: "He's a loser". Why would he help a loser who got caught?
 
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Mike D.

Ars Scholae Palatinae
987
“My case is a silly witch hunt perpetrated by self-serving prosecutors. Thankfully my amazing attorney sent them back to junior varsity where they belong. Drain the swamp. Drain the sewer that is the DOJ. MAGA [Make America Great Again]”

I look forward to seeing that smug look on your face disappear when you realize you're going to jail for a long time.
One can only hope. Unfortunately, the rich tend to live by different rules and the rest of us have been passively permitting it for decades now. Shkreli should not be the one facing jail time now, but another link in a long chain of rich fucks that should have long since been judiciously put in a position of needing to worry about dropping the soap.
 
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zarakon

Ars Scholae Palatinae
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Seriously. The cherry on top of all of this will be when Trump pardons him :)

Somehow I don't see that happening. There's no real evidence that Trump gives a damn about anyone outside of his immediate family, and with Shkreli being condemned across the aisle it's not even like he would gain some partisan benefit from pardoning him.

As Trump would say: "He's a loser". Why would he help a loser who got caught?

If he manages to get away with it though, he'll be near the top of the list if Trump decides he wants a new Secretary of Health and Human Services
 
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DarthSlack

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But, he argued, Shkreli was “one of the most brilliant minds of his generation,” and Brafman warned jurors that they should think carefully “before you snuff that out” with a felony charge.
<jury deliberates for 44 seconds>

Nah... snuff it out.


Damn, that's a slow jury.
 
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Mike D.

Ars Scholae Palatinae
987
Sociopath.

That is what he is.
Unfortunately, that is what a considerable number of high income persons in this country are and the worst part is that our society matter-of-factly creates such people. When we permit the rich to separate themselves from the masses to the degree that now exists in the US—e.g., gated communities, expensive private education, an income-based judicial system, etc.—, such behavior is to be expected. In this douchebag’s case, he has proven that some rich people are even willing to frell over other rich people to make a buck.

Until we as a people decide that we need to balance out our society, this will only get worse.
 
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Voyna i Mor

Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
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[url=https://arstechnica.co.uk/civis/viewtopic.php?p=33731451#p33731451:1fms31nm said:
Joey100[/url]":1fms31nm]He' s no genius, he just thinks that he is. He is apparently obsessed with himself, with no regard for other people. Socially awkward? I would say edging toward psychopathy.

One of the symptoms of psychopathy is overestimating one's intelligence and underestimating that of others. Vampire fiction (which is a kind of psychopathy analogy) makes use of this trope, e.g. Dracula thinking if he spells his name backwards he will be undetected.
 
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Frosty Grin

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Shkreli should not be the one facing jail time now, but another link in a long chain of rich fucks that should have long since been judiciously put in a position of needing to worry about dropping the soap.
Have you considered that rape is wrong? If you think that prison rape is acceptable, you're definitely not a better person than the "rich fucks".
 
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Unsheept

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Shkreli should not be the one facing jail time now, but another link in a long chain of rich fucks that should have long since been judiciously put in a position of needing to worry about dropping the soap.
Have you considered that rape is wrong? If you think that prison rape is acceptable, you're definitely not a better person than the "rich fucks".

For normal humans, you have a good point. But this is the Interwebs, where those vile acts are reserved for those who the court of public opinion says deserve them.

I sympathize with the eye-for-an-eye thought, but ultimately agree with you. Let him rot in prison, unmolested, for as long as possible.

For someone like him that's torture anyway.
 
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Rookie_MIB

Ars Tribunus Militum
1,954
I'm not sure if he ran a ponzi scheme exactly, but I guess it depends on whether or not the two hedge funds he managed made profits or lost money. If those hedge funds made profits, then the people who invested in them didn't lose money which is supposed to be the definition of a ponzi scheme (ie: last to cash out loses because there's no money left).

And - being an asshole is not against the law. If it were, there would be many, many more people in prison.

However, taking funds from two completely different hedge funds to prop up a third company to cover up losses (regardless of the ultimate profitability of the third company long term) under the table IS a securities violation. And for that, he should be going to jail.

So while he might skate on the Ponzi, and the asshole charges, he might get caught on the simplest charge to prove: that he moved money illegally and under the table. Ah, the brightest minds (</s>) get tripped up on the simplest things.
 
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I am not a violent person. I don’t believe in fighting , but for some reason I have an overwhelming urge to punch Shkreli in the face.

There is something about that face that makes it so punchaboe. Maybe it’s that privilege smirk or that over coiffed hair. He has one of the most punchable faces around. Him and Donald Trump Jr who looks like an extra from a 1980s mafia movie.

It is wrong. It is bad. But every time I see that mug, I want to launch a knuckle missile right in his schnoz. Im thinking of making a line of those punching bag clowns with Shkrel’s face on it. I must not be the only one who feels this way.
 
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Shkreli’s lead lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, responded. “On paper, yeah, you know what? Doesn’t look great.” But, he argued, Shkreli was “one of the most brilliant minds of his generation,” and Brafman warned jurors that they should think carefully “before you snuff that out” with a felony charge.

Weak. Brilliant or not, fraud is fraud. Successful or not, fraud is fraud. Profitable or a loss, fraud is fraud.
 
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dlux

Ars Legatus Legionis
25,514
Uf it isn't an image of Pai it's this asshat. For the love of all that is right and holy stop displaying their images!
Here - have some Randall Stephenson instead:

att-chairman-and-ceo-randall-stephenson-promoting-live-share4.jpg
 
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I am not a violent person. I don’t believe in fighting , but for some reason I have an overwhelming urge to punch Shkreli in the face.

There is something about that face that makes it so punchaboe. Maybe it’s that privilege smirk or that over coiffed hair. He has one of the most punchable faces around. Him and Donald Trump Jr who looks like an extra from a 1980s mafia movie.

It is wrong. It is bad. But every time I see that mug, I want to launch a knuckle missile right in his schnoz. Im thinking of making a line of those punching bag clowns with Shkrel’s face on it. I must not be the only one who feels this way.


I see his face; I see the face of someone who has not had to physically work a day in his life, never had to suffer any serious disaster in life, never had to worry about his own security.
 
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