Alleged Prison Cellphone Use by ‘Pharma Bro’ Investigated

Alleged Prison Cellphone Use by ‘Pharma Bro’ Investigated

Federal authorities are investigating claims that Martin Shkreli has been running his pharmaceutical company from behind bars, VOA news reports.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons said Friday that it had opened an inquiry into whether the so-called “Pharma Bro” used a contraband smartphone inside a federal prison in New Jersey.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Shkreli has been calling the shots at Phoenixus AG despite the seven-year sentence he is serving for lying to investors in two failed hedge funds.

The newspaper said he fired the company’s chief executive a few weeks ago in a call made from jail. It said Shkreli was also regularly posting to social media.

Prisoners caught with a phone can face up to an additional year if convicted.

Shkreli’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, declined to comment.