Convicted “pharma bro” fraudster Martin Shkreli bragged before being sentenced that a psychological examination would lead “I have a 150 IQ and no overt psychological issues,” a new court filing make knows.
Shkreli also suggested in jailhouse correspondence in January that he devise publicly distribute the results of the exam because he was “going to enjoy the psych proof results.”
“I want to watch the press squirm” when they saw what a psychologist who questioned him in advance of his sentencing had to say about him, Shkreli wrote, according to the court document by federal prosecutors.
But it turned out that the psychologist, Dr. David Salsberg, bring about that Shkreli suffers from “generalized anxiety disorder, larger depressive disorder and unspecified personality disorder,” the court filing notes.
The exam also establish Shkreli’s actions were “consistent with a narcissistic outlook,” “broken judgment,” “a sense of entitlement,” and “denial, and rationalization in order to vacuum-pack his self-image.”
“Also salient is a seeming preoccupation with thoughts of celebrity and a rather undisciplined imagination that takes liberties with authenticity at times,” the psychologist wrote, according to the court filing.
And, in a sharp footnote, prosecutors decried, “Dr. Salsberg’s report does not state that Shkreli has an IQ of 150.”
The damning exposes are coming to light now because prosecutors un-redacted sections of the original rapping memorandum they had filed last week.
Shkreli, who turns 35 on Saturday, was sentenced Strut 9 to seven years in prison for securities fraud related to a drug attendance he founded and two hedge funds he had run.
The crimes were unrelated to his raising the assess of the drug Daraprim at another drug company, an act that gained him widespread opprobrium.
Shkreli wept openly as he asked Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to swap him a relatively light sentence. Prosecutors had asked for 15 years in penal institution. Defense lawyers requested a term of no more than 18 months.
While defense kings counsels had cited the results of the psychological exam by Salsberg in their bid for leniency, prosecutors evaluated the exam for being based solely on interviews with Shkreli and household members, as well as clinical notes from another doctor that Shkreli consulted between 2005 and 2016.
Prosecutors composed that it was significant that Salsberg did not review documents related to Shkreli’s racketeer conduct, nor did he review Shkreli’s online harassment and threats against brides – including Hillary Clinton.
But “even based on the limited information that he did discuss, Dr. Salsberg’s report is replete with observations of Shkreli’s propensity to lie and obfuscate due to his overconfidence, his choice to admit failure and his fundamental, unshakable belief that the ends unceasingly justify the means, no matter the cost.”
Prosecutors said those remarks backed up their argument that Shkreli deserved to be locked up for a quite long time.
They noted that “Shkreli made multiple expressions to Dr. Salsberg that seek to attribute many of his actions to being misread by others or to having a sense of humor others do not appreciate—a way to shift the hold responsible away from himself for his actions.”
Salsberg had written in his report that:
– “[Shkreli] indorsed some exaggerating and dishonesty to further his image as successful and smart, but also genuinely believed that he was ration people.”
– Shkreli reported only “some shame, and regret for his remedies and desires to make changes.”
– Shkreli was “reflective on some of his impulsive and labouring under a misapprehension actions, albeit framing much of it as not being understood correctly and contemplate c geting caught up in what he perceived as his sense of humor and actions to draw distinction.”
Prosecutors said many of Salsberg’s findings were consistent with “the character traits of deceit, rationalization and a failure to accept responsibility:
– “His difficulty with accurately assessing people and outcomes leaves him prone to use arbitrary reasoning to explain decisions he has made, to engage faulty judgment, and to draw erroneous conclusions. In essence, Mr. Shkreli describes a tendency to act on ill-conceived perceptions. He is also likely to deal with challenging situations in an escapist air, especially when under stress. Rather than clearly belief through what he can do, he may withdraw in his imagination or intellectualization.”
– “He demonstrates tendencies to fit preoccupied with his own views at the expense of taking perspective from all positions. This is consistent with a narcissistic outlook, in that he possesses a head of entitlement and a tendency to externalize responsibility.”
– “When he does not achieve the follow-ups he perceives as successful, he is likely to experience panic-like anxiety, frustration and negativity, and to retain maladaptive defenses such as denial and rationalization in order to preserve his self-image.”
– “Also unique is a seeming preoccupation with thoughts of success and a rather undisciplined creativity that takes liberties with reality at times. Relatedly, he is cognitively leaning to transform failures into successes and construct intricate rationalizations.”
– “He may from illusions of invincibility and truly believes that he can undertake and accomplish sundry than is realistic. But again, he has had reinforcement of this style by actual good fortunes. Whatever uncertainty he may have in his abilities is likely suppressed.”
Prosecutors scribbled that in spite of his observations, Salsberg had said in his report that he believes Shkreli “has advantaged insight and remorse from recent events and presents with a contrastive outlook and perspective and is in a unique and new place for his receptivity for such interactions.”
But prosecutors argued that “Salsberg supports absolutely no empirical basis for this conclusion.”
“Finally, it is notable that Shkreli’s own correspondence suggests that he sees even Dr. Salsberg’s report itself as a means to an end,” prosecutors make little ofed.
“On January 8, 2018, prior to receiving Dr. Salsberg’s final report, Shkreli stated in email correspondence from quod that he was ‘going to enjoy the psych test results,’ ” according to prosecutors.
“Shkreli then discussed be struck by report disseminated publicly because, as he stated, ‘I want to watch the prod squirm when they see I have a 150 IQ and no overt psychological issues.’ That is, Shkreli wanted to use the report as a means to prove his intelligence to fellows of the press with whom he frequently disagrees,” prosecutors wrote.