Martin Shkreli Weeps, Tells Sentencing Judge: `This Is My Fault'

(Bloomberg) -- Martin Shkreli told a federal court that he understands his mistakes and begged forgiveness from the investors he lied to, saying, “I am terribly sorry I lost your trust. You deserved far better.”

He choked back tears as he addressed Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, who will impose a sentence at the end of Friday’s hearing in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was convicted in August of lying to investors in his hedge funds and manipulating shares in the biotech company he founded. The prosecution has recommended he serve 15 years, while his defense team has said a shorter term is warranted.

Shkreli said he made “gross, stupid and negligent mistakes,” and that while he disagrees with the picture the prosecution painted of him, “I am not going to be baited into going into the mud.”

Click here for the prosecution’s arguments during Friday’s hearing

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