A federal judge has denied a request from Martin Shkreli the smirking, price-gouging former drug company executive known as Pharma Bro for a three-month prison release to research a COVID-19 treatment.

Brooklyn U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto said in her ruling Saturday that she agreed with a probation report that described Shkrelis plan as the same kind of delusional self-aggrandizing behavior that landed him in prison.

The court does not find that releasing Mr. Shkreli will protect the public , even though Mr. Shkreli seeks to leverage his experience with pharmaceuticals to help develop a cure for COVID-19 that he would purportedly provide at no cost, Matsumoto wrote.