AN UNNAMED member of “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli’s family may have engaged in witness tampering, authorities said on Thursday.

“A member of the defendant’s family has reached out to one of our witnesses, veering into the area of suggesting a witness not testify,” Assistant US Attorney Alixandria Eleis Smith responded after Shkreli’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, whined that an FBI agent had reached out to someone on the defence’s witness list.

The comment was prompted by a letter filed Thursday by the defence team complaining that prosecutors had been reaching out to their witnesses, “cherrypicking” people to subpoena for government purposes.

“We’re focusing on our rebuttal case,” Smith smiled, adding the defence was more than “welcome” to call on prosecutor’s witnesses.

An investigation into the possible tampering is ongoing, officials said, as it remains unclear which Shkreli kin placed the call, and who they were attempting to dissuade from taking the stand against the 34-year-old.

The former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO — who became known as the “most Hated Man in America” for jacking up the price of drug Daraprim by 5000 per cent — is headed to trial on securities fraud charges for purportedly running an $US11 million ($15 million) Ponzi scheme.

A dishevelled Shkreli spent most of the hearing playing with his oily bangs, but at one point smirked when, discussing housekeeping issues, the judge likened his upcoming trial to a marriage.

“Is this like a wedding, where everyone has to sit on separate sides?” Brooklyn federal court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto deadpanned.

“It’s more like a divorce,” lawyer Ben Braffman quipped.

Prosecutors and defence attorneys alike squabbled Thursday over how to select a fair and impartial jury pool with their client’s media footprint — during which Shkreli was likened to Don King, Martha Stewart, and the Boston bombers.

Both sides want to keep answers from potential jurors regarding Shkreli’s likability secret.

Jury selection begins Monday, and a grand jury investigation into Shkreli and those around him remains ongoing.

Matsumoto has yet to rule on whether or not she’ll lower Shkreli’s bail from $US5 million ($6.6 million) to $US2 million ($2.7 million) — as he’s now claiming he’s broke.

This article originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission.