Feds clear Martin Shkreli to appear at Washington drug pricing hearing
Self-proclaimed "pharma bro" had stated that he could not leave New York due to the terms of his bail.
Martin Shkreli (Twitter photo)
The United States Department of Justice has given its blessing to a district court in New York to allow ex-pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli to travel to Washington, D.C. to testify at a hearing on drug pricing on February 4.
Shkreli, who last year increased the price of an AIDS drug by 5,000 percent, has been charged with security fraud, security fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. He has also been slapped with a civil lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Prior to official approval from the DOJ, the reviled, self-proclaimed "pharma bro" had stated that he could not leave New York due to the terms of his bail.
"In his letter, (Shkreli) states that he informed the House Committee that he is 'forbidden from leaving the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York under the conditions of his bail, as ordered by Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy on December 17, 2015,'" wrote U.S. Attorney Robert Capers in a letter dated Jan. 24.
[Also: Martin Shkreli fired from KaloBios]
The clearance means Shkreli will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
In addition to being out on $5 million bail for his alleged scheming, Shkreli also faces a host of other legal challenges, including a Federal Trade Commission investigation for antitrust violations and a congressional subpoena for drug price gouging.
Twitter: @JELagasse
