Waksal said to be near a plea deal Ex-ImClone chief reportedly may agree to jail time
By CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 6:03 PM ET Sept. 30, 2002
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Former ImClone Systems CEO Samuel Waksal is close to reaching a plea-bargain agreement with prosecutors on numerous counts of securities fraud, according to news reports.
The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, in separate reports, said that lawyers representing Waksal appear to be closing in on a deal under which the ex-biotech chief would plead guilty and agree to some jail time. In exchange, Waksal could reportedly get leniency for himself and family members.
Prosecutors have, according to news accounts, pressed for a sentence of as much as 10 years, but Waksal could end up spending less time behind bars under a plea agreement.
Fueling speculation that plea negotiations are in an advanced stage, Waksal's lawyers missed a deadline Friday for filing pretrial motions.
A spokesman for Waksal declined to comment.
Waksal was indicted last month on charges of insider trading, perjury, obstruction of justice and bank fraud. He has entered a plea of not guilty.
Waksal is accused of tipping off relatives that the Food and Drug Administration would reject ImClone's (IMCL: news, chart) application to market an anti-cancer drug, Erbitux, so that they could unload the company's stock before the news became public. Prosecutors haven't publicly identified the family members, but news accounts have said they are Waksal's father and one of his daughters, Aliza.
Prosecutors are also reportedly investigating a sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone stock by Martha Stewart on the day before the FDA's rejection was announced.
The home-decorating expert, who is a friend of Waksal, has denied any wrongdoing and she hasn't been charged in the case. Still, the controversy has deflated the stock of her eponymous company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO: news, chart). Shares nudged down 1 cent to $7 Monday.
Shares of New York-based ImClone have also cratered from a high of more than $70 last December to less than $8 now.
ImClone's shares traded down 14 cents to $7.80. |
