Reviled drug CEO Martin Shkreli arrested on suspicion of securities fraud

NEW YORK -- (WPIX) -- Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli, widely pilloried for jacking up the price of a drug used to treat AIDS patients, has been indicted on criminal charges that he bilked a company out of millions of dollars and used money from one company to pay off debts from previous losses for investigators.

The accusations do not relate to Turing Pharmaceuticals, the company that raised the price of Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent.

Instead, the federal case centers on his time as CEO of Retrophin, another biotech company that ousted him last year. The indictment, brought by prosecutors in Brooklyn, was unsealed Thursday.

"Shkreli essentially ran [Retrophin] like a Ponzi scheme," said U.S. Attorney Robert Capers. He said he used the company "as his personal piggy bank."

According to prosecutors, the money and stock went to satisfy claims from investors in hedge funds that Shkreli previously bilked.

The FBI arrested the 32-year-old Shkreli on Thursday morning in New York. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.

Earlier this year, Shkreli became headline fodder with the drug price hike at Turing.

Shkreli has been the focus of widespread criticism in the media, which dubbed him "the most hated man in America," as well as by politicians. He defiantly defended the price increase in interviews and frequent tweets.