Martin Shkreli: I was targeted for being ‘flamboyant and personable’

“In fact, the SEC told me so, which is really remarkable,” Shkreli said on Fox Business.

“There was one very senior person at the SEC who has now left, he’s at a big law firm, and he said to my lawyer that if I kept my mouth shut none of this would have happened,” he said.

“I think it’s a sad day in this country where just being a flamboyant and personable figure results in somebody saying, ‘Oh, let’s look at that guy’s records and let’s see what we have on him,'” Shkreli added.

Shkreli, 34, famously smirked through his arrest and trial and earned the nickname “pharma bro.” As a result of his trial, he now faces up to 20 years in prison.

But Shkreli said the government failed to prove five other counts during his trial, and predicted the other three would fall on appeal.

“I think those three charges are very vulnerable to attack,” he said.

Shkreli was CEO of a company that produced the generic drug Daraprim, and was blasted by the press and Congress for boosting the price of that drug after taking over the company.

Shkreli also complained that his decision to “be himself” led to a lack of due process, and led the government to seize his documents improperly.

“In this country, you get due process,” he said.

Still, he admitted his antics may have played a role in how he was treated, and the result of his trial.

“I’m the kind of person that tires to be himself,” he said. “For better or worse, sometimes it has benefits. Sometimes it has drawbacks.”