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Politics : Israel to U.S. : Now Deal with Syria and Iran -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Yaacov who wrote (7307)	3/9/2005 12:16:54 PM
From: Elmer Flugum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

Friends of yours Alex? Two Waksal Friends Charged With Fraud Wednesday March 9, 11:50 am ET By Larry Neumeister, Associated Press Writer Two Friends of Samuel Waksal Are Charged With Securities Fraud Related to Sales of ImClone Stock NEW YORK (AP) -- Two friends of jailed ImClone Systems Inc. founder and former Chief Executive Samuel Waksal were arrested Wednesday on securities fraud charges, prosecutors said. Zvi Fuks, 68, a member of ImClone's scientific advisory board, and Sabina Ben-Yehuda, 51, both of New York City, were arrested on charges brought in U.S. District Court in Manhattan stemming from their sales of ImClone stock on Dec. 27, 2001. Prosecutors alleged Fuks and Ben-Yehuda made the sales after they were tipped by Waksal that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would not review ImClone's experimental cancer drug, Erbitux. Waksal, 56, a longtime friend of Martha Stewart, is serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison after admitting he tipped his daughter to sell her ImClone shares. Aliza Waksal was not charged with a crime. Stewart just completed a five-month prison sentence after she was convicted of lying to federal investigators about her sale of ImClone stock. In a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday, the government charged Fuks and Ben-Yehuda with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud. According to the complaint, Waksal learned the disappointing news the evening of Dec. 26, 2001 and caused his daughter on the morning of Dec. 27, 2001 to sell $2.4 million in ImClone stock and tried to sell nearly double that amount from an account in his name. Then, the complaint alleged, Waksal tipped Ben-Yehuda about the FDA news and that it would negatively effect ImClone stock. According to the complaint, Ben-Yehuda asked whether she should tell Fuks the news and Waksal said she should. The complaint said Ben-Yehuda and Fuks had a very close personal relationship. Before the market opened, Fuks placed an order to sell $5.3 million in ImClone stock and Ben-Yehuda placed an order to sell $73,453 of the stock from her accounts, prosecutors said. After the FDA development was announced, the value of ImClone stock fell by about 16 percent. If convicted, Fuks and Ben-Yehuda each would face a maximum of 10 years in prison on the most serious charge and maximum fines of $1 million or twice the value of their gains from any crimes. It was not immediately clear which lawyers would represent Fuks and Ben-Yehuda, who were held for appearances in court.