During a recent appearance on the "Unchained" podcast hosted by Laura Shin, Martin Shkreli, a former pharmaceutical executive known for hiking the price of a life-saving drug by a staggering 5,000%, opined that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan is a good pick for disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
While Kaplan is an ill-tempered man known to not suffer fools, his focus on detail may give Sam's legal team an edge since it is expected to prepare a competent legal defense. Further analyzing Bankman's chances of receiving a lenient sentence, Shkreli suggested that young prosecutors can make mistakes and should expect to face some tough questions from Judge Kaplan if their case against Bankman-Fried does not hold up well.
Shkreli, who was previously convicted of fraud and securities law violations in 2017, stated that the judge appointed to oversee Bankman-Fried's trial could be more lenient if the FTX is able to portray himself as a sympathetic figure."The judge is going to read a lot about you, they're going to be talking about you as the defendant for the next two years. So, to humanize yourself and show who you really are is going to matter a lot," Shkreli said.
According to the pharma bro, Bankman-Fried could be looking at the ballpark of 20 years if he plays his cards right. "I think he could be looking at 20 or less, possibly," he said.
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