Securities Fraud and ponzi schemes are not a joke. Shkreli is accused of stealing 11 million from a hedge fund to pay off investors in a ponzi scheme. If convicted, he can face up to 20 years in federal prison.
Granted, schemes like these eventually fail and collapse on itself. Shkreli didn't help himself by being such an attention seeker with his antics.
But hey, he wanted attention right? Well, he got attention.