Martin Shkreli told former employee, "I hope to see you and your four children homeless"

The so-called "Pharma Bro" once wrote a letter threatening a former employee and their family

Published July 19, 2017 6:47PM (EDT)

 ((AP Photo/Seth Wenig))
((AP Photo/Seth Wenig))

In August 2011, Tim Pierotti began working for "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli, running a consumer hedge fund for him, but by the end of 2012, he had already lost faith in his boss. Shkreli then sent a bullying letter to Pierotti's house, which threatened him and his family, according to the New York Times.

"Your husband has stolen $1.6 million from me," the letter said. "Your pathetic excuse of a husband . . . needs to get a real job that does not depend on fraud to succeed."

"I hope to see you and your four children homeless," the letter continued, according to the Times. "I will do whatever I can to assure this. Your husband’s arrogance is infuriating, and making an enemy out of me is a mistake."

On Tuesday Pierotti testified in Shkreli's ongoing trial in a Federal District Court in Brooklyn.

The Times elaborated:

Mr. Pierotti’s testimony is at the center of one of eight fraud charges against Mr. Shkreli: that he manipulated shares in Retrophin, a biopharmaceutical company he ran. Mr. Shkreli denies the charges.

Prosecutors contend that Mr. Shkreli funneled shares of Retrophin to Mr. Pierotti and others, keeping the allotments just under the threshold for reporting requirements, and controlled huge parts of Retrophin through the scheme without reporting that to financial regulators.

Shkreli's hedge fund was called MSMB, and Pierotti testified that he told him to "put all of MSMB Consumer’s money into one stock, Rick’s Cabaret, a chain of strip clubs," the Times reported.

"One day, Martin came in and said, I want it all sold today; I need the money," Pierotti testified, and he then liquidated the fund.

Shkreli first generated headlines after he raised the price of a life-saving drug over 5,000 percent. Pierotti's testimony concluded on Tuesday, and the trial resumed on Wednesday.


By Charlie May

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Hedge Funds Martin Shkreli Martin Shkreli Trial Pharma Bro Pharmaceutical Industry