NEW YORK — Martin Shkreli, the eccentric former pharmaceutical CEO notorious for a price-gouging scandal and for his snide “Pharma Bro” persona on social media, was convicted Friday on federal charges he deceived investors in a pair of failed hedge funds.

A Brooklyn jury deliberated five days before finding Shkreli guilty on three of eight counts. He had been charged with securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Shkreli, upbeat and defiant outside the Brooklyn courthouse afterward, called his prosecution “a witch hunt of epic proportions” but conceded that maybe the government had found “one or two broomsticks.”

Asked about his client’s social-media antics, attorney Ben Brafman said it was something they would be working on.

“There is an image issue that Martin and I are going to be discussing in the next few days,” he said, adding that while Shkreli is a brilliant mind, sometimes his “people skills” need work.

Within an hour of leaving the court, Shkreli was at home live-streaming on YouTube and calling the split verdict a victory, despite his conviction on two of the most serious counts. Prosecutors had a different take.

“There’s one statement that’s most important and that’s the jury’s statement: guilty on those counts,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget Rohde.

Prosecutors had accused Shkreli of repeatedly misleading investors about what he was doing with their money. Mostly, he was blowing it with horrible stock picks, forcing him to cook up a scheme to recover millions in losses, they said.