Cheng Yi Liang, 57, a chemist at the Food and Drug Administration who lives on Skidmore Drive in Gaithersburg, has been charged with insider trading ahead of drug approval announcements in what is believed to be one of the biggest scandals ever to hit the FDA.
The SEC alleged Tuesday that Cheng Yi Liang illegally traded in advance of at least 27 public announcements about FDA drug approval decisions involving 19 publicly traded companies and amassed more than $3.6-million in illicit profits.
The SEC asserted that Liang went to great lengths to conceal his insider trading by using seven separate brokerage accounts, one of which belonged to his 84-year-old mother who lives in China.
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“Liang victimized both the investors who were disadvantaged by his theft of inside information and American citizens whose trust6 he violated by placing private gain ahead of public good,” said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement in a statement.
