David Blech, Jewish ‘King of Biotech’ Stocks, Fails To Get Sentence Tossed
David Blech, once dubbed the “King of Biotech”, failed to persuade a U.S. appeals court to throw out his four-year prison term for securities fraud on the ground that his sentencing judge was biased.
Blech, 58, had argued in court papers that U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon improperly considered his race and social status in imposing the sentence.
The defendant, who is white, Jewish and was once among the wealthiest Americans, said McMahon wanted to counter a view that “we let people like you get away with things that we don’t let poor black drug addicts” get away with.
In an order on Tuesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said McMahon “made a number of illconceived remarks that bordered on the inappropriate,” but that it was not persuaded that she sentenced Blech “based on unconstitutional factors such as race”.
It said McMahon sentenced Blech based on factors including “the need for specific deterrence for a recidivist, and the need for general deterrence for those who might otherwise feel that some whitecollar crimes are ‘games worth playing.’”
The court also upheld McMahon’s $1.34 million forfeiture order, saying Blech waited too long to object.
Richard Levitt, a lawyer for Blech, declined to comment. The defendant had sought to be resentenced by a different judge.
Blech, who has said he has bipolar disorder, had pleaded guilty in May 2012 to manipulating shares of biopharmaceutical companies Pluristem Therapeutics Inc and Intellect Neurosciences Inc in 2007 and 2008.
He reached a $1.03 million civil settlement last August with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Blech had also pleaded guilty in 1998 to an unrelated fraud, but was sentenced to probation.
Earlier in his career, Blech helped found Celgene Corp , whose products include the blood cancer drug Revlimid, and whose market value on Friday topped $68 billion.
He also helped found Icos Corp, now part of Eli Lilly & Co , which developed Cialis to treat erectile dysfunction.
Forbes magazine said Blech was worth $295 million in 1992, making him among the 400 richest Americans.
Blech is housed at a low-security prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He is not eligible for release until March 12, 2017.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
