U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto of the Eastern District of New York on Saturday denied former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli's motion for release from prison, finding that he is at no particular health risk from COVID-19 in a facility that has yet to report any COVID-19 cases.

Matsumoto rejected Shkreli's argument that he should be released in order to find a cure for COVID-19.

"The court does not find that releasing Mr. Shkreli will protect the public, even though Mr. Shkreli seeks to leverage his experience with pharmaceuticals to help develop a cure for COVID-19 that he would purportedly provide at no cost. … Mr. Shkreli's self-described altruistic intentions do not provide a legal basis to grant his motion," she wrote.

Prosecutors opposing Shkreli's motion for release had argued that if Shkreli said he was already researching a cure from prison, he could continue his research without being released. Probation officers went a step further, describing Shkreli's plans for a cure as the same kind of "delusional self-aggrandizing behavior" involved in the conduct for which he was convicted.

Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison for securities fraud in March 2018, and he is currently incarcerated at a low-security facility in Allenwood, Pennsylvania.

He became widely known as "Pharma Bro" after increasing the price of a drug used in HIV/AIDS treatment by more than 5,000%, and prosecutors opposing his release argued that he may use any theoretical cure to "enrich himself to the maximum extent possible, including by concealing his work or declining to provide such a cure to others unless he were paid an exorbitant sum."

Matsumoto also rejected Shkreli's arguments for release on medical grounds, noting that he takes the over-the-counter drug Claritin for seasonal allergies and is a healthy 37-year-old, according to his medical records.

She also questioned why Shkreli would seek to be released into confinement at a New York City apartment, given the high number of cases in New York and the reported lack of any cases at Allenwood.

Shkreli's attorney, Benjamin Brafman of Brafman & Associates, said late Saturday that he was very disappointed by the decision but not surprised.

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