Evan Greebel and Martin Shkreli
On Friday, Eastern District of New York District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto sentenced Evan Greebel, former partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman and Kaye Scholer, to 18 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Greebel’s conviction stems from his representation of Retrophin (during his tenure at Katten Muchin), the pharmaceutical company led by the infamous Martin Shkreli.
Prosecutors alleged Greebel assisted Shkreli in using Retrophin’s assets to pay investors in unrelated hedge funds run by Shkreli through the use of phony settlement and consulting agreements and fraudulently backdating agreements. During the trial, Greebel attempted to lay the blame for the shady financial deals at Shkreli’s feet, but that strategy failed.
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Prior to sentencing, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Greebel to five years, while the defense argued no jail time was appropriate. Greebel, who was arrested in December of 2015, argued the tatters of his Biglaw career were sufficient punishment for his role in the financial misdealings, and the defense pulled in legal heavyweights to make their case for leniency.
However, as Law.com reports, Judge Matsumoto was unmoved by those pleas:
“He is not reckless, he was not naive, he was not inexperienced,” Matsumoto said. “He was not led astray by a young, brash CEO.”
Greebel was sentenced to 18 months for each felony conviction, to run concurrently, and was ordered to pay more than $10.4 million in restitution and forfeit $116,462.
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During the hearing, Greebel was reportedly stoic and read a brief statement:
He was mostly expressionless during the hearing and looking at the table in front of him, though while reading a brief written statement to the court prior to the sentence, he removed his glasses and wiped his eyes.
“I will regret every day of my life, the day I met Martin Shkreli,” he said.
For his role in the scheme, Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison, which is a good deal harsher than his lawyer’s jail time.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).