NEW YORK, N.Y. – Prosecutors say several witnesses in a securities fraud case against pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli (SHKREL’-ee) are concerned he will retaliate if they testify against him.
In a filing in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on Thursday, prosecutors asked a judge to delay a civil lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission until Shkreli’s criminal case plays out.
Shkreli asked to begin taking depositions in the civil case, but prosecutors say they have a “concern of witness intimidation.”
His attorney called the allegations “preposterous.”
The 32-year-old has pleaded not guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors say he lost investors’ money through bad trades, then looted the pharmaceutical company to pay them back.
Shkreli was already reviled because the drug company raised the price of a life-saving medicine.
