Attorney General James asks court to punish Martin Shkreli for allegedly violating lifetime pharmaceutical industry ban

New York – New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of federal and state officials are asking a federal court to hold Martin Shkreli in contempt, alleging that he has spent years openly violating an order barring him from the pharmaceutical industry for life.

The request seeks financial penalties, a full review of his pharmaceutical stock trading and an order requiring him to sell all holdings in pharmaceutical companies. Officials also want the court to authorize further fines and possible incarceration if he fails to comply with the ban and subsequent court orders.

James joined the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from six other states in bringing the motion. Their argument centers on Shkreli’s trading activity and public commentary, much of which they say he has broadcast himself through livestreams and social media posts.

“A court-ordered lifetime ban isn’t a suggestion,” said Attorney General James. “Martin Shkreli has been livestreaming his pharmaceutical company trades for the world to see, in violation of the law. Shkreli’s market manipulation and monopolistic tactics put investors and the public at risk, and we’re going back to court to put a stop to his latest illegal behavior.”

The dispute follows the coalition’s successful antitrust case against Shkreli over Daraprim, a lifesaving drug used to treat toxoplasmosis. In January 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that Shkreli had violated federal and state antitrust laws through conduct that restricted competition for the medication.

That ruling barred him from participating in the pharmaceutical industry and ordered him to pay nearly $65 million. The current motion asks the court to enforce the lifetime restriction against activities the coalition says began soon after Shkreli left prison in May 2022.

His prison sentence involved separate securities fraud charges. According to the coalition, his release was followed almost immediately by pharmaceutical stock trading that has continued despite the industry ban.

The underlying antitrust lawsuit dates to January 2020, when James and the coalition sued Shkreli, Vyera Pharmaceuticals and his business partner, Kevin Mulleady. Officials accused them of illegally blocking competition to maintain monopoly control over Daraprim.

For decades, the drug had been affordable and accessible. That changed in August 2015, when Vyera, led by Shkreli as chief executive, acquired it. The company raised the price of a pill from $17.50 to $750, changed distribution arrangements and limited competition from generic drug manufacturers.

The consequences extended beyond the price increase. The court found that the conduct severely restricted supply and put patients at risk. Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease that can cause serious, sometimes life-threatening complications in people with weakened immune systems. Those at risk include people with HIV and babies born to women infected with the disease.

Now, the coalition says Shkreli has disregarded the restrictions imposed after that case. Rather than pointing only to private financial records, officials describe a public trail of trading broadcasts, stock discussions and posts about his profits.

One early example involves a competition Shkreli began livestreaming on YouTube in July 2022. He and another YouTuber took part in a “trading challenge” to see who could increase an initial $50,000 deposit the most within two months.

Read also: RIT student designs magnet storage stands for the world’s first Electron-Ion Collider

Shkreli streamed multiple times a week. According to the coalition, those broadcasts showed that pharmaceutical stocks made up a large share of his portfolio. He also spent substantial time discussing the pharmaceutical businesses whose shares he was trading.

The broadcasts later expanded into a series called “Evaluating Stocks,” which Shkreli began in 2024. Those livestreams examined individual companies in detail, including businesses in the pharmaceutical industry.

Among the companies he discussed was Cassava Sciences, Inc., which was developing a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The coalition says Shkreli used his broadcasts to argue for shorting Cassava, a position that could benefit from a decline in the company’s share price.

Livestreams from October and November 2024 showed extensive trading in Cassava, according to officials. When the company announced a failed clinical study, Shkreli’s short position paid off. He then posted on social media about the money he had made.

The coalition points to a sharp increase in the total value of his Interactive Brokers account around that announcement. The account rose to $841,000 from $138,200 shortly before the news. Those figures describe the account’s total value, rather than a separate accounting of all profits from pharmaceutical trades.

Officials say Cassava was one of more than a dozen pharmaceutical stocks that appeared in Shkreli’s trading livestreams during 2024 and 2025. Not every position produced a gain.

In December 2025, Capricor, another pharmaceutical company Shkreli had shorted, announced positive clinical trial results. Its stock surged, and his position collapsed. After going all in on the short, Shkreli described the brokerage account he had been using as “over”.

By June 2026, he was livestreaming again with a different brokerage account showing a starting balance of $10 million, according to the coalition. Officials say he has continued trading pharmaceutical shares and posting his assessments of companies online.

They also argue that the publicly visible activity may not capture the full extent of his trading. Shkreli has indicated that he holds additional accounts and conducts most of his trades away from social media.

During one livestream, he said, “I have some other accounts that I’[d] show you, but, like, I know feds are watching.”

The coalition’s legal argument rests on two specific parts of the court’s order. One prohibits Shkreli from acquiring or holding an ownership interest in a pharmaceutical company. Another bars public statements intended to influence a pharmaceutical company’s business.

Officials contend that his stock holdings and online commentary violate both restrictions. They say the livestreams document the trades while also showing him encouraging viewers to act on his views about pharmaceutical businesses.

The concern, according to the coalition, reaches beyond whether Shkreli personally earns money. Officials argue that his followers make investments based on his recommendations and that his public statements move markets.

For companies targeted by his short positions, the coalition says those movements can make it more difficult to raise money, support research and bring new medicines to consumers. Those assertions form part of the officials’ case for sanctions; the current request asks the court to find him in contempt.

Read also: State police arrest five in Erie County online child exploitation investigation

A central part of the proposed response is an independent examination of his finances. The coalition wants an auditor appointed at Shkreli’s expense to produce a full accounting of his pharmaceutical company trading activity.

That review would accompany an order requiring him to divest all pharmaceutical company stocks. Officials are also seeking a fine equal to his profits from pharmaceutical stock trading since February 4, 2022, when the ban was issued.

Under their proposal, losing trades would not reduce the amount he owes. The requested calculation would include profits without an offset for trading losses, plus interest. The distinction matters because the record described by officials includes both large gains and the collapse of his Capricor position.

The coalition also wants measures aimed at securing future compliance. It is asking for additional fines and potential incarceration if Shkreli continues to disregard the lifetime ban or fails to follow further court orders.

Joining James and the FTC are the attorneys general of California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Together, they are seeking enforcement of the existing order through a contempt finding and sanctions addressing the alleged violations.

New York’s work on the matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Saami Zain, Deputy Bureau Chief Amy McFarlane, Bureau Chief Elinor R. Hoffmann and Legal Assistant Arlene Leventhal of the Antitrust Bureau. The bureau is within the Division for Economic Justice, overseen by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D’Angelo and First Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux.

The motion places Shkreli’s own public broadcasts at the center of the enforcement request. The coalition is asking the court to use that record, alongside a full accounting of his trades, to determine the consequences of what officials describe as years of violations.