A Gaithersburg man accused of insider trading with his FDA scientist father is now charged with possession of child pornography. Authorities investigating Andrew Liang and his father found “several images” of child pornography on the younger man’s laptop computer, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Greenbelt.
The affidavit says the computer had a folder with explicit photographs of girls between the ages of 7 and 12 years old.
Andrew Liang, 26, was charged Tuesday with one count of possessing child pornography, and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Liang was charged by information, an indication that a plea deal is in the works because the charge can only be filed with the approval of the defendant.
Federal agents in March arrested Liang, and his father, 57-year-old Cheng Yi Liang, a chemist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research in Silver Spring. Cheng Liang had worked for the FDA since 1996.
Prosecutors said the duo used the FDA’s internal tracking system to determine whether drug applications would be approved, then used that information to buy securities issued by companies before the announcement.
For instance, authorities said Cheng Ye Liang accessed a confidential FDA database that contained critical information about a drug to treat restless leg syndrome. During the two weeks before the approval of the drug was publicly announced, the Liangs purchased 43,000 shares of the company that developed the drug. Shares rose 56 percent and the Liangs earned profits of more than $126,000.
Between 2001 and 2006, the father-and-son duo earned more than $3.6 million in illicit profits and avoided losses, prosecutors said.
The Liangs were charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud. The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud is a five-year prison sentence. The maximum penalty for securities fraud is five years in prison and a $5 million fine for each count.
