Joseph “Chip” Skowron III, MD, of Greenwich, Conn., has been charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Dr. Skowron became a healthcare hedge fund portfolio manager and allegedly evaded $30 million in losses for his funds by paying a French physician for secrets on the progress of a liver disease drug.
Authorities said French physician Yves Benhamou, MD, began tipping Dr. Skowron off in Dec. 2007, revealing serious adverse effects that occurred with patients involved in the drug’s clinical trial. The secrets allowed Dr. Skowron to sell all his hedge fund’s shares before the stock of Human Genome Science dropped 44 percent following public announcements.
Dr. Skowron was arrested two days after Dr. Benhamou pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, two counts of securities fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
Read the Wall Street Journal report on Dr. Skowron and hedge fund fraud.
Read more about physicians involved in fraud:
– 10 Physicians Accused or Convicted of Fraud
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