Pharma bro Martin Shkreli arrested on allegations of securities fraud

It seems like only a few days ago that reviled pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli was doing what he’s best known for: raising the price of critical medical drugs and saying gross things about Taylor Swift.

Today, however, he is in federal custody.

Bloomberg reports the 32-year-old biotech CEO was arrested by federal authorities this morning on charges of securities fraud. Authorities told Bloomberg the Shkreli was accused of using funds from his former company Retrophin to pay off his personal debts.

A short-seller who founded Retrophin in 2011, Shkreli became well-known earlier this Fall when his current company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, bought the maker of a rare cancer drug and raised the price 5,000 percent. Since then, Shkreli has stayed in the spotlight, whether for his backtracking and un-backtracking on the price hike, or for his purchase, for $2 million, of a Wu Tang Clan album.

Shkreli has been under investigation by the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of New York since last February in relation to his role as the CEO of Retrophin, which he was fired from last October.

At the time, investigators were looking into payments Retrophin made to former investors who sued the company for failing to deliver. In an SEC disclosure, Retrophin wrote that Shkreli was using “consulting agreements” to disguise what were actually legal settlements. Retrophin is currently suing Shkreli for $65 million.

When news of the investigation broke last February, Shkreli brushed off any concerns in a post on InvestorsHub.

“I welcome any scrutiny by any party and have faith any investigation will be resolved without issue—it would not be the first time and it won’t be the last that my moves have been looked at—this is not my first rodeo and I have too many scars to do something stupid,” Shkreli wrote.

Shkreli has yet to make a public statement on his arrest as of Thursday morning. The most recent activity on his Twitter account is a response to a Microsoft executive who told him to “stay humble.”

@trengriffin always fam

— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) December 17, 2015

This story is developing and will be updated as new information becomes available.