Hip-Hop got a double whammy this week after news of the feds releasing two men that tried to exploit the culture for their selfish gain hit the press.
TMZ reports that both Martin Shkreli and Billy McFarland are no longer incarcerated.
Martin Shkreli is the man who boosted the price of really essential medicine for people living with HIV/ AIDS and Malaria by 4000%.
He also purchased a limited-edition Wu-Tang Clan album titled Once Upon a Time in Shaolin in 2015.
Martin Shkreli, also known as the “Pharma Bro,” was convicted of securities fraud charges. He was found guilty on 3 of 8 federal charges pertaining to his reign at the pharmaceutical company Retrophin.
On Wednesday, May 18th, he was released from FCI Allenwood Low in Pennsylvania through the Bureau of Prisons’ NY Residential Reentry Management Office into his new living situation.
Shkreli was released from federal prison into “community confinement.” Community confinement is the official term for a former prisoner going into a halfway house.
Shkreli was originally sentenced to seven years after his conviction in 2017. He announced his freedom on social media, saying, “Getting out of real prison is easier than getting out of Twitter prison.”
What made it easy? According to his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, he participated in programs to get an early release.
TMZ also reported that Billy McFarland, the mastermind behind the Fyre Festival, is no longer behind bars. He was released on March 30th.
Like the Pharma Bro, McFarland will also be going into community confinement. However, it is unclear if he was sent to his home or halfway house.
As AllHipHop.com reported, in 2018, Billy McFarland was convicted of 2 counts of wire fraud connected to the Fyre Festival, an event linked to rapper Ja Rule.
Not many people in the Hip-Hop world are shouting hooray but wondering how Uncle Pookie and Malik down the block are still locked up for selling weed.