“The detailed record compiled by FTC staff shows that Mr. Shkreli chose to blatantly disregard the order after leaving prison,” FTC Commissioner Mark Meador said in a statement. “Among other actions, he traded in pharmaceutical stocks and actively sought to influence the business and management of several pharmaceutical companies through public comments, in violation of the terms of the injunction. … A lifetime ban from the industry is only effective if the violations result in consequences commensurate with the severity of the order.”
In a response, Shkreli said he was surprised by the FTC’s filing. “I could see totalitarian NY AG Letitia James trying to limit citizens’ free speech, but not from Trump’s FTC,” he wrote on social media.
“Magic trick”
The brief filed by the FTC and the States breaks down Shkreli’s alleged violations into four phases:
(1) a commercial competition in 2022 with another YouTuber; (2) shorting a small biotechnology company in 2024, as well as trading shares of other pharmaceutical companies; (3) a 2025 trading challenge in which he shorted three small biotechnology companies as well as numerous other pharmaceutical company stocks; and (4) a trading challenge started in June 2026 with a $10,000,000 account in which he again trades shares of a pharmaceutical company.
In numerous live broadcasts on various social media platforms, Shkreli sometimes showed his accounts on screen, according to the filing. He discussed pharmaceutical companies at length, evaluating stocks and predicting outcomes of pivotal clinical trials. In 2025, he told his viewers about his “magic trick,” saying, “It doesn’t matter what trades I make, because I can always find a few biotech stocks to smoke.” » Later that year, Shkreli advised his viewers to short sell the shares of a pharmaceutical company, and the company’s stock price quickly fell 17 percent.
The FTC and the states wrote in their filing that the actions Shkreli discussed in the livestreams are “likely the tip of the iceberg.” FTC staff reviewed only a fraction of Shkreli’s social media activity, and Shkreli made several references to other accounts he owns.
“I have other accounts that I would show you, but, like, I know the feds are watching, so f
ck that,” he said, according to the filing.
Gn bussni
