Could We See Closing Arguments, Today Or Tomorrow?

I have not been “live” — in the ceremonial court room, in Brooklyn — at all, on this one.

But some of the MSM journalists who were, yesterday, are reporting that the FBI agent currently testifying… will be the government’s last witness.

If so, and if Mr. Brafman plans only to say “the government failed to show my guy committed the crimes charged“… and then sit down… we may see closing arguments, this afternoon — with the case going to the jury as early as tomorrow.

We did lose one alternate from the box, yesterday — as apparently that juror (No. 14, not very likely to be asked to deliberate — since two would have to fall out, from the main 12 jurors, there) cannot afford to get by on the $75 or so, per day that the federal courts pay jurors who are not also drawing paid leave or salary — at their regular jobs.

So — what will (at least potentially) the last day of the government’s case in chief bring? [To be clear, there is no order on the additional evidence the AUSAs wish to admit, in the PACER record, yet — so unless the able Judge Matsumoto ruled orally from the bench (and that ruling was wholly-unreported by the MSM), there is still the chance that there is more to go into evidence, on the government’s side. We shall see.]

Do use this thread — to opine on all matters Shkreli-trial-related.

Onward — on a clear day here. Gleefully expectant — with promise of some developments of material import, as ever….

Namaste!

51 thoughts on “Could We See Closing Arguments, Today Or Tomorrow?”

    • condor says:
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      The able judge has just posted the jury instructions… They weigh in at a WHOPPING 96 pages… reading now. [This is literally “throwing the BOOK at him!”]

      Will post on them in the morning!

      G’night all!

      Liked by 1 person

        • condor says:
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          It is a complicated multi-company case, and I am still reading, but this looks to be as comprehensive a set of instructions as I’ve seen.

          The proposed instructions (originally, back in May) submitted by the parties ran about 32 pages — this is triple that.

          Still digesting — but feel free to take a look! These are most of what the prosecution wanted.

          Liked by 1 person

        • condor says:
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          I just linked to all 96 pages — see that last comment.

          “… No amount of honest belief on the part of a defendant that the scheme ultimately will make a profit for the investors will excuse fraudulent actions or false representations by him….”

          And so, the able judge will give the “no ultimate harm is NO DEFENSE” instruction.

          Yes! It is irrelevant that the investors ultimately made money.

          Liked by 1 person

  2. R West says:
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    If conviction on a 20-year charge seems certain, I see him trying to run away. I assume the court took his passport when he posted bond though, so it could be tough … but he might be able to make it out through Canada. If he could get to Canada, then Switzerland, they would probably allow him to stay. Although they have an extradition treaty with U.S., they don’t honor it. Also, if he’s convicted, it will be interesting to see if the court revokes his bond and remands him into custody or if he is allowed to stay out on bond until sentencing. A lot of white collar criminals are allowed to stay out, but my guess is that they take him into immediate custody.

    Liked by 1 person

    • condor says:
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      That will be an interesting dance. Pre-Trial Services does have his passport; and $5 million pledged from his E*Trade brokerage account.

      As you know, Mr. Brafman will exert influence here (maybe even having a junior associate babysit him), if he convinces the able Judge not to remand him immediately (again assuming a sentencing date is set on a short calendar).

      Brafman’ incentive? If Martin runs, Ben’s accumulated and unpaid legal fees (in the pledged E*Trade account)… go… POOF!

      It will … be entertaining! May be a(nother) slow White Bronco chase, driving upstate toward Canada (the original drove south on the 405, toward… Mexico).

      Like

      • billythekid9919 says:
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        Let’s say he does run after being sentenced to 20 years… Then he gets caught and returned. How much time does he end up doing?

        Also, after R West mentioned the Matthew Kluger case I read about it and watched the CNBC American Greed Episode about it. Anything over 10 years and he’s not just going to a country club, but a more secure facility, according to Matthew Kluger. Condor, what’s your take on Kluger as an M&A lawyer?

        Liked by 1 person

        • condor says:
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          I admit that I’ve not looked at the case… and may not ever do so… Lil’ Marty has sorta burned me out on Wall Street turd-blossoms … I still think he’s like to get ten years, on the nose.

          And I honestly don’t think he has the wiles to survive alone on the run. He fakes a good game — but without lots of cash, he’d be turned in in under a week. Ppl won’t help him.

          Just my guesses! Good stuff here!

          Liked by 1 person

  3. R West says:
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    With all this research, we should make some money on this: Could RTRX be a good investment? Some people theorize that Martin still has a lot of money, and RTRX will recover their losses from him. Actually, in one of his recent Youtube videos, Martin claims to have $100M in his investment account. On the other hand, by the time he pays a criminal fine, the SEC fine, and his attorneys … it’s hard to believe anything will be left. So … is RTRX a buy?

    Liked by 1 person

    • condor says:
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      I think Retrophin will end up maxing out the D&O insurance limits… for a recovery… but that will mostly go out to the shareholders not in “the Shkreli club”… and I expect that he is nearly broke already.

      The only meaningful assets are (1) touring shares — majority stake ($10 to $60 million) but very illiquid; and FDA is going to regulate that business model to death; (2) Picasso — $3 million, maybe; (3) Enigma machine — $1 million (both 2 and 3 at auction); (4) Wu-Tang album — $50,000 on a good day… (5) I don’t think he owns any Retrophin… and he had to divest KalBios this time last year as a condition of bankruptcy exit.

      Unless he has s secret Swiss account… he’s tapped out in under three months.

      Liked by 1 person

    • condor says:
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      As to the $100M claim… think about the evidence we just saw: he’s a serial fabulist about his pockets… that much is painfully obvious!

      Namaste!

      Like

  5. R West says:
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    There’s a lesson here: Attorneys rely on the attorney-client privilege too much .. it seems so easily pierced in modern times. Then to get in trouble as a co-conspirator to boot … if clients ask for a written agreement, you usually give it to them. You don’t play like the FBI/SEC and investigate it first. It’s a little alarming that an attorney can get in so much trouble so easily. That case will be interesting as well!

    Liked by 2 people

    • billythekid9919 says:
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      {Shkreli on Monday offered his Facebook followers a bit of math of his own, although without any actual numbers.
      “Who likes math? Time for a math lesson. The whole is equal to the sum of its parts. Not the parts you cherry pick,” Shkreli wrote.
      “You can’t omit important pieces of a story and expect the people will be too stupid to figure it out.”}

      Isn’t it ironic, don’t ya think?

      That last bit is the game Marty has been playing for the better part of 10 years since his first fund crashed.

      Like

    • FTD says:
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      Brafman’s track record, the statistics would say he’s due for a loss in the probability game of trials. Let’s get this show on the road, start pleading with the jury, Ben. šŸ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

    • billythekid9919 says:
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      {Many were unaware Shkreli had said he was more financially successful than fellow Albanian Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Nobel Peace Prize winner canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint – a comment which triggered a deluge of criticism in social media.

      When asked what he thought about the comparison, Fran Shkreli said: “He must be wrong in the head.”}

      Liked by 1 person

    • condor says:
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      Yep — because he’s just… classy, like that. He probably owes Brafman more than $7 million, after that crazy flurry of all-nighters, last week — and weekend.

      And the E*Trade account doesn’t have enough to cover that, plus the tax liens.

      Rock — meet hard place!

      Namaste…

      Liked by 2 people

      • FTD says:
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        Condor, I still think he has been dipping into the Turing lockbox for expenses to live his life comfortably. Turing should hire a private investigator and a forensic computer scientist to see what Shkreli has been doing.

        I wouldn’t be surprised if he stole from his alleged R&D funding. Now that I think of it, nothing would shock me what he is currently thefting from. šŸ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

        • condor says:
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          As a private company, organized under Swiss law (if I recall correctly), that is mostly an issue between him and the minority shareholders. I think he still is the majority holder. And those other jokers knew his rep when they bought in…

          But I think you are likely right. Just fewer legal options in a non US private company…

          Namaste…

          Like

    • aldt440 says:
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      ā€‹ā€‹
      The judge has been extremely fair and accommodating. I don’t think Martin even understands how a lot of courtrooms move through their docket. There are very few courts out there where you could pull the kind of circus he has and get away with it; this might be part of the reason why they are ending the party early – damage control.

      I know a few good defense attorneys and they’ve told me all sorts of crazy stories. I think a majority of judges would tell his counsel up front that some of his motions are trash and aren’t even worthy of a hearing. The nice and fair Matsumoto heard all of his motions! His 4th amendment search and seizure motion was an obvious joke. I think the e-mail admissibility motion was a bit futile.

      Martin, if you’re reading this, attend an Information hearing and watch criminal defendants get thrown into the meat grinder. Hopefully you’ll appreciate your position a bit more after witnessing one of the darkest elements of the criminal justice system. On any given day in just about any Information courtroom across the country, you’ll see things like cops high-fiving each other after obviously committing perjury, you’ll hear story after story about defendants getting punched in the face (all of them justified LOL) and drugs magically falling out of pockets. The majority of criminal defendants out there aren’t even fortunate enough to get an evidence suppression hearing and this could very well factor into your sentencing hearing.

      Liked by 1 person

      • condor says:
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        Good stuff, Altd440 — and I’ve handled some of those you describe, pro bono over the years… that said… a lot of the defendants are also… guilty.

        But yes, the system (locally, more-so than in federal court) is pretty darn broken.

        Namaste!

        Like

    • Mr Rhymes says:
      Reply

      I have noticed the shkreli trolls becoming a tad more aggressive as of today, thinking Shkreli has it in the bag and the government’s case fell apart. I believe it’s quite the opposite though…

      Liked by 2 people

    • billythekid9919 says:
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      {In 2012, Braconi testified, Shkreli had told the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that a prior hedge fund he started in 2006, Elea Capital, had “unfavorable” investment results and shuttered after less than two years, when a single trade “resulted in greater losses than the firm had in assets.”

      “The investors lost their entire principle,” Shkreli told FINRA.
      But Shkreli had boasted of his supposed stock-trading prowess to people who eventually invested in MSMB Capital and then in MSMB Healthcare, after MSMB Capital lost most of its money in a disastrous trade.}

      Condor, isn’t that a textbook definition of fraud?

      Liked by 2 people

    • condor says:
      Reply

      This is… “so Martin!”

      “…The 34-year-old ā€” who winked and blew a kiss to a Post reporter Monday ā€” was officially barred from Twitter after harassing female journalists….”

      Yesterday — after being booted from Twitter four times — and he’s still trying to troll MSM journalists?

      He is… some kinda’ stupid.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. FTD says:
    Reply

    I have a new theory that ties into Shkreli not testifying. My theory is that, the jury will see this as weak. After all the inconsistencies & criticism of personal character, Shkreli doesn’t testify. He doesn’t testify with his mantra of “I did it for my investors” “I’m here to save lives”

    The optics look bad. I think the jury wanted to hear from his own mouth what kind of person he was.

    Liked by 1 person

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