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On January 20, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and state co-plaintiffs asked a federal judge to require Martin Shkreli to explain why he should not be held in civil contempt. Regulators said he had failed to provide documents and sit for an interview in an investigation into whether he was complying with a lifetime ban on participating in the pharmaceutical industry. That request was an allegation and a request for court action—not a finding that Shkreli violated the ban or was held in contempt.
What the FTC and states alleged
The FTC said it and state co-plaintiffs asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to issue an order to show cause on civil contempt. The stated basis was Shkreli’s failure to provide requested documents and attend an interview during a compliance investigation. The agency associated its inquiry with Druglike, Inc. The FTC’s January 20, 2023 announcement describes the regulators’ request and their stated concerns.
An order to show cause would require a person to respond to a request that the court take action. The FTC announcement reports what regulators asked the judge to do; it does not establish that the judge found Shkreli in contempt. The materials available here do not establish the final disposition of that 2023 request.
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The compliance inquiry concerned a February 2022 court order barring Shkreli for life from participating in the pharmaceutical industry. The order came out of an antitrust case brought by the FTC and states involving Vyera Pharmaceuticals, Shkreli and others, over conduct concerning Daraprim. The FTC’s case record includes the operative order dated February 4, 2022.
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The underlying case was about alleged anticompetitive conduct, not the later contempt request. The New York Attorney General reported that the district court ordered $64.6 million in disgorgement and described Daraprim’s price increase as more than 4,000 percent. Those figures relate to the underlying antitrust judgment; they are not penalties or findings from the contempt process. The Attorney General’s October 2024 statement summarizes the appeal outcome and the underlying ruling.
How the case progressed
- January 2020: The FTC, New York and six additional states brought the antitrust case concerning Daraprim against Vyera Pharmaceuticals, Shkreli and others.
- February 4, 2022: The district court’s operative order imposed the lifetime pharmaceutical-industry ban and disgorgement in the underlying case.
- January 20, 2023: The FTC announced that it and state co-plaintiffs sought an order to show cause on civil contempt, citing Shkreli’s failure to provide requested information and attend an interview during compliance monitoring.
- January 23, 2024: The Second Circuit affirmed the district court judgment and lifetime ban. The FTC case record links to the appellate history.
- October 7, 2024: The New York Attorney General reported that the Supreme Court declined to hear Shkreli’s appeal, leaving the lower-court ruling in place.
What is established—and what is not
The lifetime ban was imposed in the underlying case and affirmed on appeal. Separately, the FTC and state co-plaintiffs said in January 2023 that Shkreli had not complied with requests made during their monitoring investigation and asked the court to begin a civil-contempt process. The agency’s then-Bureau of Competition Director, Holly Vedova, said Shkreli’s “failure to comply with the court’s order demonstrates a clear disregard for the law.” That was the FTC’s characterization of its claim, not a judicial determination.
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The official materials cited here do not verify a separate 2026 contempt filing, nor do they establish a final ruling on the 2023 contempt request. It would therefore be inaccurate to state that a court found Shkreli violated the ban or held him in contempt based on this request.
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