Rhode Island fugitive arrested after years under biotech executive alias

A Rhode Island fugitive wanted for more than 20 years was arrested in New York after authorities said he had been living under an alias that included work as a biotech executive. The case has drawn attention because filings and company announcements show the man known in the industry as Richard Graydon had recently held senior medical roles.

The U.S. Marshals Service said Ronald Fischer, 70, was taken into custody July 16 after marshals and the U.S. Coast Guard stopped a 56-foot sailing vessel called The Silver Lining on the East River. The Marshals Service said Fischer was arrested without incident.

Stat News reported that Richard Graydon was an alias used by Fischer, a former anesthesiologist who had been licensed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Fischer fled during a 2005 trial in which he was accused of first-degree sexual assault, according to Stat News.

In a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, California-based Immix Biopharma said Graydon had been terminated on Friday for “reasons unrelated to his activities at the Company.” The company said management did not expect a material effect on the business because his tenure was brief.

Fleeing a Rhode Island trial

Fischer was accused of raping a woman during a date on his yacht, Lion King, according to Stat News. Days before closing arguments in his 2005 trial, he sent his lawyer an email with the subject line “Goodbye,” the Providence Journal reported.

In that email, Fischer wrote that he expected to be acquitted but did not want to risk the penalties he could face if convicted, according to the Providence Journal. He said he had decided to leave the United States for another country where he had planned a safe and comfortable life, the newspaper reported.

After Fischer disappeared, he was convicted in absentia and was sought for failure to appear, first-degree sexual assault and flight to avoid prosecution, according to the reports. Police had linked him to more than a dozen aliases, and his profile described him as a skilled yachtsman and international traveler, Stat News reported.

The Boston Globe reported that Fischer had previously been accused in 1994 of raping another woman on a different yacht, The Dreammaker. In that case, he pleaded guilty to assault and battery and received a suspended two-year prison sentence, the Globe reported. His medical licenses were revoked after that case, according to the Globe.

Biotech roles under another name

Stat News reported that in 2017, Graydon self-published a book called The Genetic Risks of Cancer, which described him as an oncologist and former chief medical officer in biotech and drug development. The book had no Amazon reviews, Stat News reported.

Atossa Therapeutics, a Seattle biotech company, announced in October 2022 that it had hired Richard Graydon as interim chief medical officer. In the company’s announcement, Atossa CEO Steven Quay said Graydon’s experience in CAR-T cell therapy fit the company’s direction as it evaluated cell therapy opportunities.

Immix announced in March that it had hired Graydon, describing him as a board-certified hematologist-oncologist with more than 20 years of clinical development experience and work tied to several approved cancer drugs. The announcement said Graydon had received an MD and PhD from Stanford University and trained at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Stat News said it could not verify those credentials and reported that Immix did not respond to requests for comment.

This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.