WASHINGTON (AP) - A chemist with the Food and Drug Administration and his son are facing insider trading charges. Cheng Yi Liang and his son, Andrew Liang, were arrested in Maryland on Tuesday, accused of participating in an alleged $2.27 million insider trading scheme. A criminal complaint charges them with conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and other offenses.
Prosecutors say the elder Liang and his son illegally traded in the securities of companies with pending drug applications by using confidential information from a password-protected FDA tracking system. The two allegedly bought cars and paid for travel with the proceeds of the scheme.
Their lawyers didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.
The FDA says in a statement that it's aware of the arrests and is cooperating with the investigation.
