Con man, brilliant mind, or myth? Jury in Shkreli trial now decides

Enlarge / NEW YORK, NY - JULY 31: (L to R) Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli and attorney Benjamin Brafman arrive at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York , July 31, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. After hearing closing arguments on Friday, jurors are set to begin deliberations on Monday morning. (credit: Getty | Drew Angerer)

The fate of Martin Shkreli is now with the jury.

After five weeks of testimony and examinations, lawyers made closing arguments Thursday and Friday, and the jury began deliberating this morning on Shkreli's case. The ex-pharmaceutical CEO stands accused of eight counts of securities and wire fraud, and he faces up to 20 years in prison. Like most things involving Shkreli, who became infamous for raising the price of a life-saving drug by more than 5,000 percent, the trial has been raucous and unusual.

Prosecutors made straight-laced arguments in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn, alleging that Shkreli ran a Ponzi-like scheme where he defrauded investors of two hedge funds he managed and siphoned millions from a pharmaceutical company he founded, Retrophin, to cover massive losses from those funds. For closing arguments, prosecutors had a stack of 33 binders on their table as they went through a PowerPoint presentation, The New York Times reports. The defense, on the other hand, brought props, wild tales, colorful questions, hints at office romance, and an unusual defense: that Shkreli-who's allegedly brilliant, well-intentioned, but awkward-may have lied about some things but ultimately paid everyone back and more.

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