Martin Shkreli Sues From Prison Over Ouster From Retrophin

(Bloomberg) -- Martin Shkreli sued the former chief executive officer of Retrophin Inc. and two other executives for at least $30 million, claiming they "unceremoniously and illegally" ousted him from the company in 2014 for their own benefit.

Shkreli, 36, was sentenced to seven years in prison last year for stealing $11 million to repay investors after the hedge-fund-manager-turned-drug-executive, lost money on risky trades. He sued Stephen Aselage, Retrophin's former CEO and currently a director, and two other executives in Manhattan federal court Friday.

Shkreli started Retrophin in 2011 after teaching himself biology. In his complaint he claimed the three defendants conspired to force him out of Retrophin, then tricked him into giving up his rights as the company's founder.

The defendants “made millions of dollars by successfully carrying out their illegal scheme and reaping what Mr. Shkreli sowed,” the founder said in the complaint. “The company is worse off now than it would have been had Mr. Shkreli remained as the leader.”

Chris Cline, Retrophin's Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, didn't immediately return a voicemail seeking comment on the suit.

Shkreli became notorious in 2015 while serving as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, which he started after being ousted from Retrophin. At Turing, Shkreli hiked the price of a life-saving drug by more than 5,000 percent. The controversial price increase was unrelated to his criminal case.

Read More: Retrophin's ‘Chaotic' Files Detail Shkreli's Spending Habits

The case is Shkreli v. Aselage, 19-cv-05120, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.