Overcoming Privilege In Pharma Exec Fraud Case

Brooklyn U.S. attorneys have tried to find a way around attorney-client privilege to prove a former pharmaceutical company CEO and his lawyer conspired to commit securities fraud. In the days before charging the two men, government attorneys convinced a judge to look past privilege, as they claimed Martin Shkreli and his lawyer Evan Greebel were conspiring together to commit fraud. Shkreli faces seven counts of securities fraud and conspiracy against Retrophin Inc., where he was once the CEO, and Greebel has been charged with wire fraud conspiracy. They are accused of looting Retrophin to cover losses suffered by investors in Shkreli’s hedge funds. In December, U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein ruled that Retrophin must turn over some documents, which he found were not subject to attorney-client privilege because they may have been part of the two-man scheme. Greebel is still a partner at Kaye Scholer.