You be the federal judge: what sentence for "Pharma Bro" after his fraud convictions?

As regular readers know, I enjoy following up news of a high-profile conviction by asking what sentence readers think fitting for the high-profile convicted offender.  As detailed in this MSNBC report, headlined "'Pharma bro' Martin Shkreli found guilty of 3 of 8 charges, including securities fraud," the high-profile offender this time around is a notorious pharmaceutical executive. Here are the basics about his crime:

A federal jury Friday found notorious "Pharma bro" Martin Shkreli guilty of three counts of securities fraud — but acquitted him of five other criminal counts related to hedge funds investors and a drug company he founded. The split verdict in Shkreli's trial came at about 2:37 p.m. on the fifth day of jury deliberations, after a more-than-month-long trial in Brooklyn, New York, federal court.

At that trial, prosecutors claimed Shkreli had defrauded multiple investors in his two hedge funds out of millions of dollars, only to repay them with stock and cash that he looted from a the biotech company he created, Retrophin. While the seven-woman, five-man jury clearly accepted some of the prosecution's evidence, it rejected other parts of their argument.

The mixed decision perplexed many in the courtroom, including the 34-year-old Shkreli, who first drew widespread public scorn in 2015 for raising the price of a lifesaving drug by more than 5,000 percent. He looked over quizzically at one of this lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, each of the three times that Judge Kiyo Matsumoto interrupted a set of "not guilty" announcements she was reading off of the jury's verdict sheet with a "guilty" one.

A juror who was quoted anonymously by the New York Times, said "In some of the counts at least we couldn't find that he intentionally stole from them and the reasoning was to hurt them."...

Shkreli, who remains free on $5 million bail, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. But he is sure to receive a far-less-severe punishment than that, given his lack of a criminal record, and other factors.

"I think we are delighted in many ways," said Shkreli said outside of the courthouse. "This was a witch hunt of epic proportions and maybe they found one or two broomsticks but at the end of the day we've been acquitted of the most important charges in this case." He almost immediately afterward used his new Twitter account, @samthemanTP, to comment on the outcome of the case, and also started a livestream on YouTube from his apartment.

Shkreli's lead lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told a group of journalists, "I hope tomorrow's reports inform the public that Martin Shkreli went to trial and despite being Martin Shkreli he won more than he lost."

But acting United States Attorney Bridget Rohde, whose office prosecuted Shkreli, said, "We're gratified as we stand here today at the jury's verdict."

"Justice has been served," said Rohde, whose prosecution team next plans to try Shkreli's co-defendant and former business lawyer Evan Greebel this fall.

Brafman said the amount of money Shkreli could be made to surrender would have been much higher if he had been found guilty of ripping off Retrophin, to repay swindled hedge-fund investors. But Shkreli was acquitted of that charge, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which Brafman referred to as "the money count."

Brafman said that because the jury found that any loss suffered by Retrophin was either low, or non-existent, as the defense claims, the sentence recommended for Shkreli will be light. "I think we would love to have a complete sweep but five out of eight counts, not guilty, is in our view a very good verdict especially since count seven, the main count that impacts on the loss in this case, that was the most important count in the case from our perspective," Brafman said. "And for Martin to be found not guilty of that count is a very, very good result as far as we are concerned," Brafman said....

The charges against Shkreli were unrelated to his decision, while CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, to raise the price of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill in 2015. The price increase came as he was being investigated for the case that led to his trial.

Prosecutors said a mountain of testimony and evidence at that trial showed that Shkreli duped multiple investors into putting millions of dollars into two hedge funds he ran, MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare, by falsely claiming to have an excellent record of running such funds, and by falsely stating his investment strategy had a low level of risk.

After getting their money, prosecutor said, Shkreli quickly lost much of it, and also used some of it to capitalize his infant company Retrophin even as he continued sending out financial statements to investors claiming positive returns. And when investors asked for their money to be redeemed to them in cash, Shkreli brushed them off for months or more, inventing excuses and suggesting alternative ways to pay them back, according to the prosecution's case.

Two of the securities fraud counts for which Shkreli was convicted related to those hedge funds. Prosecutors said that he then improperly used Retrophin stock and cash from the young firm to pay off the the funds' investors. While Shkreli was acquitted of on Retrophin-related count, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with Retrophin.

This Reuters article, headlined "Shkreli sentence turns on antics, investor impact of crime," highlights that this case may be the relatively rare white-collar case in which the calculated guideline range is rather low but personal factors may prompt a judge to want to sentence above the range:

Benjamin Brafman, Shkreli's lawyer, said because the hedge fund investors ultimately profited, his client's sentencing range should be zero to six months, which allows for probation in lieu of prison.

Brafman in an email on Saturday acknowledged Shkreli's social media habits are "not helpful" and hoped the court would focus on the facts of the case and the law. "My hope is that the court will ignore the childish and compulsive tweeting of Mr. Shkreli that‎ is his right to do," Brafman said.

Shkreli could benefit from steps he took to repay investors before he caught the attention of authorities. "As long as the investors were paid back before he knew there was a criminal investigation that is subtracted from any loss figure," said Sarah Walters, a lawyer at the law firm McDermott Will & Emery.

Prosecutors are expected to argue the intended losses of the fraud were much higher, noting the millions of dollars that investors lost before they were repaid, according to the law enforcement source, who requested anonymity to discuss the case. That could allow for a lengthier sentence, as under federal sentencing guidelines, judges are to consider the actual or intended loss, whichever is higher.

Legal experts also said prosecutors could argue for a lengthier sentence by asking U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to factor in the conduct involving Retrophin despite the acquittals. While juries must find wrongdoing under the high standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, judges at sentencing may consider facts proven by the lower standard of preponderance of the evidence.

The guidelines are advisory only, and Matsumoto can factor in other issues, including Shkreli's trash-talking habits. "In this case, I imagine they will focus more on that he is a liar, he disparages people, he is a disruptive force and he has a complete lack of remorse," said John Zach, a lawyer at Boies, Schiller & Flexner.