Samuel D. Waksal
Samuel D. Waksal | |
|---|---|
| Status | in prison |
| Occupation(s) | immunologist, businessman |
| Criminal charge | fraud, conspiracy, perjury |
| Penalty | 87 months imprisonment |
Samuel D. Waksal, who was born September 8, 1947 in Paris, France to Holocaust survivor parents, is an Jewish American immunologist and businessman who founded the biopharmaceutical company ImClone Systems in 1984. He also served as ImClone's CEO.
Education
Waksal earned a bachelor's degree in 1969 and a doctorate in immunobiology in 1974, both from The Ohio State University.
Personal life
He dated Martha Stewart's daughter, Alexis for years prior to his criminal conviction.[1]
Criminal Activity and Conviction
He was arrested June 12, 2002 on insider trading charges. On October 15, he pleaded guilty to charges of securities fraud, bank fraud, obstruction of justice, and perjury.
On March 3, 2003 he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and wire fraud for avoiding $1.2 million in sales taxes on $15 million in artwork. The art included works by Mark Rothko, Richard Serra, Roy Lichtenstein, and Willem de Kooning, purchased between June 2000 and October 2001. He did not pay the necessary taxes at the time of purchase, but did pay the taxes in fall 2002.
On June 10, 2003, Waksal was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in fines and back taxes, all the maximum punishments allowable under law. Waksal is not eligible for parole. He is currently serving time in the Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville in New York state as inmate number 53803-054.
Notes
- ^ "A Bad Thing", New Yorker, March 22, 2004
He is currently serving time in the Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, Michigan state as inmate number 53803-054.
External links
- ImClone Founder Pleads Guilty to Avoiding Sales Taxes, The New York Times, March 3, 2003
- ImClone founder Waksal sentenced to 7 years in prison, San Francisco Chronicle, June 10, 2003
- Sam Waksal: I Was Arrogant, CBS News, October 2, 2003
- Free Samuel Waksal argues that Waksal's insider trading should not be considered a crime and that he does not belong in jail
- Sam Waksal Political Contributions