A chemist for the Food and Drug Administration pleaded guilty Tuesday to securities fraud and making a false statement related to a $3.7 million insider trading scheme.
Cheng Yi Liang, 57, of Gaithersburg, had worked at the Drug Evaluation and Research in Silver Spring since 1996.
Liang admitted to accessing the FDA internal tracking system to determine whether drug applications would be approved, then used that information to buy securities issued by companies before the announcement.
Liang and his son, Andrew Liang, 26, earned more than $3.6 million in illicit profits and avoided losses, prosecutors said. Both men were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Andrew Liang also was charged last month with possession of child pornography after law enforcement officials said they found explicit photographs of girls between the ages of 7 and 12 years old on his laptop computer. He pleaded guilty to the pornography charge and prosecutors dropped the wire fraud charge.
