不用等陪審團最終裁定，有一項罪名馬丁·什克雷利肯定跑不掉了：一級厚顏無恥罪（此處借鑒了美國司法中的一級謀殺罪說法，一級謀殺罪較二級謀殺罪嚴重，包括預謀殺人，過失導致多人死亡等情況——譯注）。

近日，前生物科技公司首席執行官什克雷利因涉嫌證券詐騙出庭受審，聯邦檢察官當場戳穿了他一樁謊言。什克雷利總是吹噓哥倫比亞大學的學歷，然而哥大一位行政人員出庭作證稱，他根本不是本校畢業生。

到這種時候，大部分被告都會氣焰全消。但什克雷利是例外。當天晚些時候，他照樣登陸Facebook玩個人直播，還對批評者出言不遜。

當天直播時，什克雷利端懷里抱著自己的貓，明明在法庭上被指控欺騙投資者，他還在給觀眾投資建議。而最令美國政府憤怒的可能還不是他大話連篇，而是他身上的衣服：一件哥倫比亞大學的T恤。

什克雷利堂而皇之地直播還不是最過分的，之后的宣判也讓人大掉眼鏡。7月28日，被BBC稱為“美國最招恨的”什克雷利被判犯有三項證券和通信詐騙罪，另外五項指控都沒成立。

這次審判耗時一個多月，簡直是一場吸引眼球的大戲。什克雷利34歲了但還像個大男孩，受審內容主要涉及“制藥大亨”的種種行為。什克雷利最有名的就是創立了圖靈制藥公司。執掌公司期間，他曾得意洋洋地大幅提高一款救命藥品價格。

不過人們很容易忘記什克雷利真正的罪行：欺騙對沖基金客戶，使客戶蒙受巨大損失。起訴書稱他從自己成立的另一家醫藥公司——Retrophin Inc.竊取1100萬美元，用來補償對沖基金客戶。但對于這一指控，陪審團并未認定他有罪。檢察官稱什克雷利的做法是一場龐氏騙局，如同搶一家銀行還另一家銀行的賬。

“這就是一場大型的迫害活動，他們可能找到了一些莫須有的所謂罪證，但到最后本案最重要的指控都沒成立。”法庭宣讀判決后，什克雷利跟辯護律師團一起，笑著對法院外的記者說。

正如什克雷利的辯護律師反復指出的，本案里沒有受害者，至少到最后也沒找出幾個。雖然對沖基金投資者不得不等幾個月甚至幾年才能拿回本金，但都賺了錢，有些還賺了不少。Retrophin的股東也不例外。律師一直想把什克雷利打造成不走尋常路的天才形象。

“他當首席執行官是不太稱職。沒錯，是有點瘋狂。” 什克雷利的一位律師本杰明·布萊福曼在結案陳詞中如是說。布萊福曼說，什克雷利跟親近的人總是有些疏離感，可他“行事太出人意表，所以人們需要他。可能看起來他是有點瘋，可你就是需要他。”

雖然今后可能面臨長達20年的鐵窗生活，但什克雷利跟之前少數被判入獄的美國企業首席執行官比還是有些不一樣。之前的高管通常能隱瞞多年，直到騙局敗露，投資者、員工，有時是整個國家經濟蒙受巨大損失后才會獲刑，敗露之前企業經營一般順暢，甚至業績平平，騙子們日子過得都很滋潤。例子不少，可以請回想下美國史上最大龐氏騙局的制造者伯納德·麥道夫，以及安然集團的前首席執行官杰弗瑞·斯基林。

毋庸置疑，什克雷利獲罪主要源于很長時間以來太多人討厭。辯護律師和他本人都說，要不是太臭名昭著，他不會被告上法庭。法律專家也同意這種說法。

康奈爾大學法律系教授羅伯特.C.霍克特指出，外界一直在曾指責美國司法部，企業高管大范圍詐騙釀成2007年金融危機后卻未追究責任。他說，由于資源受限，檢察官在調查不知能否推進案件時，往往將“道德崩壞”當成重大突破口。

霍克特稱：“積極追查什克雷利之類臭名昭著、廣為人厭的人，可以表現出檢察機關的鄭重態度。”

美國時代精神

唐納德·特朗普出任美國總統剛滿六個月，什克雷利就敏銳抓住了當前的美國精神。如檢察官所說，他夸夸其談，目中無人，公然政治不正確，無視社會秩序，卻擅長運用社交媒體吸引一批追隨者，儼然千禧一代版的特朗普。只是有一點跟特朗普不一樣，他用不了Twitter，原因是之前騷擾一名女記者。

就在陪審團開始審議當晚，什克雷利又向之前投訴他的Teen Vogue雜志專欄作者勞倫·杜卡發起攻擊。之前正是因為杜卡投訴，他的Twitter賬號才會被封。

“賤人們聽好了，明天就會宣判。如果無罪釋放，我就上了勞倫·杜卡。” 什克雷利揚言。

本世紀初什克雷利就成了窮奢極欲的代表人物，跟上世紀80年代內幕交易丑聞的主人公——金融家伊凡·博斯基差不多。什克雷利曾豪擲200萬美元，只為買紐約著名嘻哈音樂組合“武當派”的一張專輯。對于將治療弓形蟲病藥物達拉匹林的售價抬高50倍，他絲毫沒有表示自責，還吹噓說如果有另一種藥也能這么賺錢，他還會這么干。遭到美國國會痛斥后，他罵國會參議員是一群“蠢材。”

媒體推波助瀾

什克雷利的審判仿佛給紐約市的各家小報打了一針興奮劑。《紐約郵報》的頭條是“庭上宣讀‘制藥大亨’和男同性戀投資者的色情電郵”，《每日新聞》標題則寫著：“ ‘制藥大亨’案太惡心，候選陪審員都受不了。”還有記者從荷蘭遠道而來，就為了去紐約布魯克林圍觀庭審。

別看現在有諸多出格的行為，什克雷利其實成長在一個工人家庭，父母是來自阿爾巴尼亞和克羅地亞的移民。在布魯克林出生后，他上了公立大學Baruch College。19歲那年，他在一家對沖基金做實習生。

他父親是個門衛，這次審訊期間從未缺席，每天都坐在法庭后排專門留給被告親友的地方。有時聽到證人和檢察官指責他的兒子騙人，他會脫下鞋子抱住雙膝。

寥寥幾份文件可能足夠證明什克雷利對投資者的欺騙行為。他自稱成功的華爾街基金經理，管理高達1億美元資產。可銀行記錄顯示，他的一個基金凈值只有-0.33美元，規模也從未超過300萬美元。他還說，基金業績超過標普500指數，實際上已經巨虧，投資者血本無歸。

文件記錄

審訊書面文件顯示，什克雷利用對沖基金的資金成立了Retrophin，主要開發治療罕見致命疾病的藥物。然后，他私自動用Retrophin的股份補貼出現虧損的對沖基金投資者。有幾年時間里，什克雷利靠這招能補上客戶的損失，有些人賺了數千美元，其中有些甚至賺了上百萬美元。

什克雷利賣Retrophin股份時作價低于3美元出手，而且附加很多限制使得很難賣掉。不過，Retrophin上市后股價立即飆漲，2015年8月曾漲至每股36.10美元，現在市價還在20美元左右。

隨著Retrophin發展壯大，什克雷利變得更頤指氣使。審訊期間陪審團才得知，他曾如何威脅惹怒他的員工家人。他曾給一位證人的妻子發信，信中寫道：“我要親眼看你和你的五個孩子無家可歸，而且會不惜一切代價說到做到。你丈夫太傲慢，氣死我了，他和我做對是大錯特錯。”

雖然Retrophin的董事會贊同什克雷利的經營理念，但還是免去了他的首席執行官一職，稱他缺乏領導技巧，無法掌管復雜的企業。他在Twitter上臟話連篇也不適合做一家上市公司的首席執行官。盡管如此，什克雷利還在威脅他人。

“他對我說，我會被無休止的官司纏身，家人也會因為我們受罪。”接替什克雷利任首席執行官的史蒂夫·阿瑟拉格在證人席上這樣說。

“勾引”

檢察官稱，什克雷利曾為了接近一位男同性戀投資人隨意“勾搭”男性。那位同性戀投資人說，他和什克雷利在往來電郵中互稱“愛你”。該投資人問什克雷利有沒有感覺到愛意時，他矢口否認。而辯方律師列舉了另一些作證的電郵稱，是該投資人想利用什克雷利。

最終，什克雷利只選擇了一個比較正常的決定：和大部分白領被告一樣，他并未出庭，以防言辭被原告當作把柄。

經過交叉質詢，什克雷利的律師布萊福曼和馬克·阿格尼法羅拼命展示他的另一面：勤奮工作，自學成為生物化學家，是個神童。

審訊中，陪審員聽到檢控方的證人一遍遍強調，說什克雷利“像個交易機器”，“是我共事過的最聰明的家伙”，“一個空想家”，“聰明絕頂”。

投資者給什克雷利起了一個綽號“雨人”，來自榮獲1988年奧斯卡獎的同名影片。片中達斯汀·霍夫曼扮演的主人公患有自閉癥，但記憶力超強。什克雷利會日以繼夜地一心撲在目標市場上。證人們說，成立Retrophin期間，他每天連軸轉，把睡袋放在辦公室里，不管身體健康，也顧不上維持個人衛生。

什克雷利譏諷檢控方是“二線隊伍”之后，法官警告他不準在法庭內外公開談論本案。

于是，什克雷利想盡各種方式表達觀點。他聽到贊許就眉開眼笑，沖著父親眨眼示意。他感覺案件進展順利時會保住雙臂，揚起眉毛，朝記者微笑。他一直對負面報道反應激烈。這次，他又找到了新方法向記者們表達他的不快：吐舌頭。從中也能看出他對傳統的不屑態度。（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審稿：夏林

Long before jurors reached their verdict, Martin Shkreli was guilty on at least one count: gall in the first degree.

During his securities-fraud trial, federal prosecutors nailed the former biotech chief executive for one of his many lies. Shkreli liked to brag he was a Columbia University alum. On the stand, an administrator said he most certainly wasn’t.

Most would shrink into their seats. Not Shkreli. Later that day, he took to his popular Facebook Live Stream and hurled obscenities at critics.

As he sat holding his cat Trashy on his lap, the man accused of lying to his investors offered, of all things, investment advice. But what might have infuriated the government most of all wasn’t anything he said. It was what he was wearing: A Columbia T-shirt.

And worse was yet to come, as the trial reached its conclusion. Shkreli -- described by the BBC as “the most hated man in America" -- was convicted of three counts of securities and wire fraud on 28th ,June. He was acquitted of five other charges.

The trial ran more than a month and resembled a circus. It often seemed the boyish 34-year-old was being tried mostly for his behavior as the so-called “Pharma Bro.” He is best known as the founder of Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, where he gleefully spiked the price of a life-saving drug.

It was easy to forget his actual crime: Lying to his hedge-fund clients about their steep losses. He was accused of repaying them by stealing $11 million from Retrophin Inc., another medical company he founded -- a charge the jury didn’t buy. Prosecutors described it as a Ponzi scheme or robbing one bank to repay another.

“This was a witch hunt of epic proportions,” a smiling Shkreli, flanked by his lawyers, told reporters outside court after the verdict was read. “Maybe they found one or two broomsticks but at the end of the day we’ve been acquitted of the most important charges in this case.”

As his defense lawyers repeatedly pointed out, no one seemed to be harmed, at least not at the end. Though hedge-fund investors had to wait months or years for their funds, they ultimately made money -- in some cases, quite a lot. So did Retrophin shareholders. His attorneys sought to portray Shkreli as unorthodox but brilliant.

“He’s not the proper CEO. Yes, he’s a little bit nuts,” one of his attorneys, Benjamin Brafman, said in closing arguments. He alienated people close to him, but he was “so overwhelmingly impressive, you need him. You think he’s a little crazy. But you need him.”

Facing a prison term of up to 20 years, Shkreli stands out in the annals of the few American CEOs turned convicts. His fellow crooks prospered for years because of their corporate smoothness, even blandness, and were held to account only after their schemes collapsed, leaving investors, employees, and -- in some cases, the economy -- devastated. Think Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and Enron Corp.’s Jeffrey Skilling.

Arguably, Shkreli went down largely because so many found him so obnoxious for so long. Shkreli’s defense -- and the man himself -- said he wouldn’t have been targeted except for his notoriety, and legal experts tend to agree.

Robert C. Hockett, a Cornell University law professor, said the U.S. Justice Department is still smarting from criticism that it didn’t hold top executives accountable after the widespread fraud leading to the 2007 financial crisis. With limited resources, prosecutors also often factor in “extreme moral turpitude” as a “tie-breaker” in cases where it’s not clear whether to move forward, he said.

“Zealously pursuing a notorious and widely loathed character like Shkreli offers a great deal of bang for the buck where demonstrating prosecutorial seriousness is concerned,” Hockett said.

American Zeitgeist

Six months into Donald Trump’s presidency, Shkreli captured the zeitgeist of America. Like a millennial version of Trump, he was bombastic, defiant, politically incorrect, indifferent to social norms -- and, according to prosecutors, the truth -- while his expert use of social media attracted a legion of followers. Unlike Trump, he was banned from Twitter after harassing a female journalist.

And on the eve of the jury getting the case to start deliberations, Shkreli went on another tirade, targeting Lauren Duca, the Teen Vogue columnist whose complaint got him banned from Twitter.

“Trial’s over tomorrow, bitches. Then if I’m acquitted, I get to f--k Lauren Duca,” he said.

Shkreli came to symbolize runaway greed and excess in the early 21st century much as financier Ivan Boesky did in the insider-trading scandal of the 1980s. Shkreli paid $2 million for a Wu-Tang Clan album and expressed no remorse about raising the price of the antiparasitic drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent, bragging he’d do so again if he could find another medicine to exploit. Excoriated by Congress, he then called U.S. senators “imbeciles.”

Tabloid Fodder

The trial was catnip for the city’s tabloids. “‘Pharma Bro’s’ steamy emails with gay investor read in court,” declared one headline in the New York Post, while the Daily News offered: “Potential jurors in ‘Pharma Bro’ trial too disgusted to serve.” Reporters from as far away as the Netherlands showed up in Brooklyn to watch the proceedings.

For all his over-privileged behavior, Shkreli grew up in a working-class family of immigrants from Albania and Croatia. Born in Brooklyn, he attended public Baruch College and first worked at a hedge fund as a 19-year-old intern.

His father, a janitor, never missed a day of trial. He could be found sitting in the same spot in the back row of the courtroom, the one reserved for friends and family. Sometimes he would take off his shoes, hug one knee and listen as witnesses and prosecutors called his son a liar.

The driest of documents could have been enough to prove that Shkreli lied to investors. Shkreli claimed to be a successful Wall Street money manager overseeing as much as $100 million. But bank records showed that one fund fell to minus 33 cents and never had more than $3 million. He said the fund outperformed the S&P 500 stock-index, when it actually posted disastrous losses, leaving investors with next to nothing in their accounts.

Paper Trail

The paper trail revealed that Shkreli was using hedge-fund money to build Retrophin, which developed drugs for rare and deadly diseases. He then secretly compensated investors for their losses with Retrophin shares. In some cases, it took years to make his clients whole. Still, they made thousands of dollars -- some even millions.

Shkreli handed out shares in Retrophin that he valued below $3, and that had restrictions making them difficult to sell. Still, once the company became public, shares surged and traded for as much as $36.10 in August 2015. They still fetch about $20.

As Retrophin prospered, Shkreli nevertheless became even more abusive. The jury heard how he threatened the families of employees who crossed him. “I hope to see you and your 5 children homeless and will do whatever I can to assure that,” he said in one letter that he mailed to the wife of one of the witnesses. “Your husband’s arrogance is infuriating and making an enemy out of me is a huge mistake.”

While Retrophin’s board valued Shkreli’s ideas, they removed him as CEO, saying he lacked the leadership skills to run a complex business, and his abusive Twitter comments were inappropriate for the CEO of a public company. Even then, the threats continued.

“He told me I’d be subjected to unremitting litigation and my family would suffer as a result of our actions,” Steve Aselage, his successor, said on the witness stand.

‘Hooking Up’

Prosecutors said Shkreli made comments about “hooking up” with random men in an attempt to get close to a gay investor, who said he and Shkreli would sign email exchanges “love you.” When the investor asked Shkreli if he felt any attraction, the CEO said no. The defense produced emails they said were proof that the investor was trying to take advantage of their client.

Ultimately Shkreli made only one conventional legal decision: Like most white-collar defendants, he didn’t take the stand because his words could’ve been used against him.

Through their cross examination, his attorneys Brafman and Marc Agnifalo highlighted another side of Shkreli, the hard-working, self-taught biochemist and whiz kid.

Here, jurors heard raves from the prosecution’s own witnesses. He “trades like a machine,” was “the brightest intellect I’ve ever run into,” “a visionary” and “stunningly smart.”

Investors nicknamed him “Rain Main” after actor Dustin Hoffman’s autistic savant character in the 1988 Academy-Award winning film. Day and night, he would focus on a single market. While building Retrophin, witnesses said, Shkreli would work around the clock with a sleeping bag in his office, often at the expense of his health and his hygiene.

After he derided prosecutors as the “junior varsity,” the judge warned him to stop talking about the case around the courthouse.

So, Shkreli made his views known in other ways. He beamed when he heard praise. He winked at his father. He wrapped his arms around himself, raised his eyebrows and smiled at reporters when he thought the case was going well. Always a fierce critic of negative coverage, he managed to convey his displeasure to journalists in a way that best summed up his attitude toward convention. He stuck out his tongue.