Biotech Wizard Left a Trail of Fraud -- Prosecutors Allege It Ended in Murder (wsj.com) 25
Serhat Gumrukcu faces trial in a purported plot to kill an associate who could have exposed him and derailed a drug-development deal worth millions. From a report: Even as a teenager back in Turkey, Serhat Gumrukcu dazzled audiences. In a 2002 video, he opened one of his magic shows dancing with a cane that appeared to be levitating. He was introduced as a medical student and went by the stage name "Dr. No." A little more than a decade later, not long after Mr. Gumrukcu arrived in the U.S., he had his hand in multimillion-dollar oil and real-estate deals. Yet his best-known venture was in medicine. For a time, he thrilled investors with ideas for groundbreaking treatments and drew special notice from the government's top infectious-disease official, Anthony Fauci. In America, the magician had found a new, more lucrative audience.
Enochian Biosciences co-founded by Mr. Gumrukcu in 2018, paid more than $21 million to companies controlled by Mr. Gumrukcu and his husband for consulting, research and the licensing of potential drugs to treat influenza, hepatitis B, HIV and Covid-19, company financial filings show. "Dr. Gumrukcu is one of those rare geniuses that is not bound by scientific discipline or dogma. He sees connections and opportunities often missed," Enochian Vice Chairman Mark Dybul, now chief executive, said in a 2019 news release about Enochian's licensing of a hepatitis B drug from a company controlled by Mr. Gumrukcu. Mr. Gumrukcu's success as a biotech entrepreneur afforded the purchase last year of an $18.4 million office complex in North Hollywood, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, and, earlier, a $5.5 million house in the Hollywood Hills.
Yet much of what people saw in Mr. Gumrukcu was an illusion he cast, misrepresenting himself and his credentials, according to state and federal authorities, court records, former colleagues and those who have sued and won judgments against him over fraudulent medical and financial dealings. Prosecutors now allege that Mr. Gumrukcu arranged the murder of a business associate, Gregory Davis, who threatened to expose him as a fraud. Such a revelation would have put at risk the 39-year-old entrepreneur's deal with Enochian, they said. Mr. Gumrukcu has been in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles since his arrest on May 24. A federal grand jury indicted him on murder conspiracy charges, an offense punishable by death.
Enochian Biosciences co-founded by Mr. Gumrukcu in 2018, paid more than $21 million to companies controlled by Mr. Gumrukcu and his husband for consulting, research and the licensing of potential drugs to treat influenza, hepatitis B, HIV and Covid-19, company financial filings show. "Dr. Gumrukcu is one of those rare geniuses that is not bound by scientific discipline or dogma. He sees connections and opportunities often missed," Enochian Vice Chairman Mark Dybul, now chief executive, said in a 2019 news release about Enochian's licensing of a hepatitis B drug from a company controlled by Mr. Gumrukcu. Mr. Gumrukcu's success as a biotech entrepreneur afforded the purchase last year of an $18.4 million office complex in North Hollywood, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, and, earlier, a $5.5 million house in the Hollywood Hills.
Yet much of what people saw in Mr. Gumrukcu was an illusion he cast, misrepresenting himself and his credentials, according to state and federal authorities, court records, former colleagues and those who have sued and won judgments against him over fraudulent medical and financial dealings. Prosecutors now allege that Mr. Gumrukcu arranged the murder of a business associate, Gregory Davis, who threatened to expose him as a fraud. Such a revelation would have put at risk the 39-year-old entrepreneur's deal with Enochian, they said. Mr. Gumrukcu has been in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles since his arrest on May 24. A federal grand jury indicted him on murder conspiracy charges, an offense punishable by death.
Evidence? (Score:1)
That's fine. (Score:2)
A federal grand jury indicted him on murder conspiracy charges,
There was enough for a grand jury to indict him, so it's not just fluff.
In the next months, Mr. Gumrukcu requested money for renovations. Mr. Akyuz wired $430,000. Mr. Gumrukcu eventually told Mr. Akyuz that they had a buyer, and the sale was completed.
Mr. Akyuz never received his expected share of the profits. He hired a private investigator and learned the escrow documents had been forged. The house wasn’t purchased by Mr. Gumrukcu and hadn’t been on the market. Mr. Akyuz sued Mr. Gumrukcu and won damages in 2016.
The civil case drew the attention of state and federal authorities. Mr. Gumrukcu was arrested on Feb. 9, 2017, and charged with 14 felony counts related to the real-estate case, including impersonating a lawyer and writing fraudulent checks. The charges also involved $600,000 in bad checks Mr. Gumrukcu had issued in an unrelated oil deal involving Mr. Davis.
Are you sensing a pattern of behavior, yet?
On Jan. 25, 2018—nearly three weeks after Mr. Davis was killed—Mr. Gumrukcu pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to a single felony count for passing bad checks and was sentenced to five years probation.
And just like that, this problems were seemingly solved.
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There was enough for a grand jury to indict him, so it's not just fluff.
“A grand jury would indict a ham sandwich, if that's what you wanted.”
Judge Sol Wachtler.
Means less than you think.
(But I'm inclined to agree this need some serious attention from the criminal justice system.)
You mean convicted criminal Sol Wachtler? (Score:2)
Wachtler's most famous quote, made shortly after his appointment as Chief Judge, was that district attorneys could get grand juries to "indict a ham sandwich".[3]
He achieved national notoriety when he was charged with, and then convicted of, acts stemming from threats he made against a former lover, Joy Silverman, and her daughter. Upon conviction, Wachtler served thirteen months in prison and a half-way house.[4]
...
Criminal charges and resignation
In 1988, Wachtler began an affair with Joy Silverman. At the time, Wachtler was a co-executor of the estate of Alvin Wolosoff, Silverman's stepfather and the uncle of Wachtler's wife.
He was also trustee of four trusts stemming from Wolosoff's estate for the benefit of Silverman and her family.[19][20]
The trusts (in aggregate) were reported to be worth US$24 million at the time.[19] According to then-United States Attorney Michael Chertoff, over time, Wachtler received fees of more than US$800,000 for his work as executor and trustee of the entire estate.[21] After Silverman ended the affair in September 1991, Wachtler began to harass her.[22]
Wachtler was arrested on 7 November 1992, on charges including extortion, racketeering, and blackmail.[23] Prosecutors alleged that he demanded a $20,000 blackmail payment in exchange for turning over compromising photographs and tapes of Silverman with her then boyfriend, attorney David Samson.[24]
He eventually pleaded guilty to harassing Silverman and threatening to kidnap her daughter.[4]
He resigned as a judge and from the bar, and Governor Mario Cuomo appointed Judith S. Kaye to replace him as chief judge of the N.Y.S. Court of Appeals.
He served his sentence, first at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina, and from December 1993 at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota after he was stabbed in the shoulder while dozing in his cell in November.[4]
Wachtler was sentenced to 15 months, but received time off for good behavior.[4]
His sentence started 28 September 1993.[4] He was released after serving 13 months.[25]
For a man of such "moral fiber" you'd swear it was All-Bran, just imagine what else he got away with during his career.
Talk about "less than you think", amiright?
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None of which changes the nature of a grand jury, whose members are chosen for their inclination to agree with the prosecution in the first place, in a procedure in which the other side isn't generally allowed to participate.
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Somewhat off-topic, but remember this quote any time you see that a grand jury has failed to indict a police officer.
A New Netflix Crime Drama (Score:2)
Who wants to bet that this becomes a Netflix True Crime Drama, similar to Inventing Anna in the next 2-3 years.
Pretty thin (Score:2)
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Here is the Hidenburg Research Paper from 6/1 (Score:2)
which largely is responsible for getting his company the kind of spotlight it deserves. [hindenburgresearch.com] It's a very interesting read and easily a script for a Hollywood movie.
Shares dropped like 40% at market open the day this came out, it's currently at $2.57 down from $5.26 on May 31st.
Where is Michael Crichton when you need him! (Score:1)
Isn't it old news? Seen the documentary. (Score:2)
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...I know slashdot is usually late, but this much? 30 years late? Come on ....
Piker. That story line is from 60 years ago.
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Thirty years later, a R&D diro of a lab running fake trials for a Pharma giant was about to be tipped off, and he did a copycat crime, something he remembered from his teens.
That's nonsense. He'd never hire a one-armed man. (Score:2)
Especially not a Greek from outer space. [imdb.com]
It's against his Turkish heritage.
Besides, why bother with the handicapped crooks when all the President's best crooks are available and willing to do some skullduggery? [nationalreview.com]
Granted, they have no penises, as is a custom with eunuchs but hey - they aren't supposed to fuck his competition literally, right?
Americans really missed their opportunity with Dumpeacho. Everything was for sale with that cunt.
Want your nuclear arsenal? Your private Idaho? The Moon?
Just name the price
Constructed Occult Biosciences... (Score:3)
Does anyone else find it INORDINATELY CREEPY that a bioscience company is tied in with a pseudo-religious occult language?
Dancing cane in 2002? (Score:2)
Stock price? (Score:2)
His is it that Enochian Biosciences is not a penny stock at this point?