Editing Samuel D. Waksal (section)

==Criminal activity and conviction==
{{Main|ImClone stock trading case}}
Waksal became aware of the FDA's rejection on Christmas Day 2001. Unable to get the FDA to reconsider, ImClone began drafting a press release announcing the Erbitux rejection. This was due to be released at the close of business on December 28. Until then, under federal securities law, Waksal was barred from selling his ImClone stock or telling anyone about the pending rejection.  However, public release of the Erbitux rejection would expose Waksal to a number of financial problems beyond the near-certainty of ImClone's stock sliding. For example, Waksal had pledged a [[warrant (finance)|warrant]] to buy ImClone shares as collateral for a loan from [[Bank of America]] despite having already executed the warrant in 2000. If Bank of America discovered the warrant was no longer valid, Waksal could be charged with [[bank fraud]]. He tipped off several of his friends and family to sell their ImClone stock. When Waksal's broker at [[Merrill Lynch]], Peter Bacanovic, became aware of the pending rejection, he alerted their mutual friend, [[Martha Stewart]], that ImClone was about to lose a good deal of its value.<ref name=Stewart/>

Waksal was arrested June 12, 2002 on [[insider trading]] charges. On October 15, he pleaded guilty to charges of [[securities fraud]], [[bank fraud]], [[obstruction of justice]], and [[perjury]].

On March 3, 2003, he pleaded guilty to charges of [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] and [[wire fraud]] for avoiding $1.2 million in sales taxes on $15 million in artwork. The art included works by [[Mark Rothko]], [[Richard Serra]], [[Roy Lichtenstein]], and [[Willem de Kooning]], purchased between June 2000 and October 2001.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1046709818588090280|title=Samuel Waksal Pleads Guilty to Evading Tax on Artwork|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|first=Kara |last=Scannell |date=March 4, 2003 |access-date=September 5, 2016}}</ref>

On June 10, 2003, Waksal was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in fines and back taxes, all the maximum punishments allowable under law. Waksal wanted to go to [[Federal Prison Camp, Eglin]], but instead he went to [[Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill]].<ref>Rose, Lacey. "[https://archive.today/20120916094604/http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/17/best-prisons-federal_cx_lr_06slate_0418bestprisons.html Best Places to Go to Prison]." ''[[Forbes]]''. April 17, 2006. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.</ref> He was later transferred to the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Milan]].<ref name=nymag/> On February 9, 2009, Waksal, [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] (BOP) # 53803-054, was released from BOP custody.<ref>"[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Samuel&Middle=&LastName=Waksal&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 Samuel Waksal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105181825/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Samuel&Middle=&LastName=Waksal&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 |date=2010-11-05 }}." [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.</ref>