Ex-lawyer for pharma exec Shkreli convicted of aiding fraud scheme

A New York corporate lawyer who once advised Martin Shkreli was convicted on Wednesday of charges he helped the former pharmaceutical executive steal millions of dollars from a drug company to pay back investors in two failed hedge funds.

Evan Greebel, who was outside counsel to Shkreli's former company Retrophin Inc, was found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn of charges that he conspired to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, the U.S. government said.

"We are shocked by the verdict," said Reed Brodsky, a lawyer for Greebel. "We will continue to fight for justice for Evan Greebel and his family."

Greebel, 44, was a partner at the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman when he was working for Retrophin. He later joined the firm Kaye Scholer, but resigned after his arrest in December 2015.

Shkreli, 34, became notorious in 2015 when he raised the price of anti-parasitic drug Daraprim to $750 a pill, from $13.50, as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals. The price hike is not related to the criminal case.

The charges he and Greebel faced related to Shkreli's management of his previous drug company, Retrophin, and of two hedge funds, MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare, from 2009 to 2014.

A jury in August found Shkreli guilty of defrauding MSMB investors, but not guilty of conspiring with Greebel to steal from Retrophin.

In September, following his conviction, Shkreli was jailed after he placed a $5,000 bounty on former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's hair, prompting U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto to revoke his bail.

According to prosecutors, Greebel faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Nate Raymond; Editing by Frances Kerry)