New York Biotech CEO Busted for $1.5 Million Scam

Norman Gray, the 45-year-old founder and CEO of a biomedical company based in Hamden, Connecticut, has been convicted of wire fraud for scamming a victim out of nearly $1.5 million.

A jury delivered the verdict on May 29, 2024, after a seven-day trial before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer. Gray was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service earlier today.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Gray used a scheme to defraud the victim, who was awarded a substantial sum of money in a commercial arbitration, by lying about his background, the financial health of his company, and how he would invest the victim’s money.

Gray falsely represented to the victim that their funds would be invested in his biomedical company and in deals to support the company through the sale of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Gray used the victim’s funds to retire prior debts, purchase a high-end automobile, and purchase a large home in Connecticut.

As part of his scheme, Gray also used fabricated documents and invented a fake mortgage company and a fictitious mortgage broker. The victim was induced to send Gray nearly $1.5 million over the course of just a few weeks in 2020.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, “Norman Gray meticulously crafted a relationship of trust and confidence with his victim by lying about his background, the financial health of his company, and how he would invest the victim’s money. Gray’s brazen scheme involved lie after lie, which included the use of fake documents and a made-up mortgage company. Gray’s lies have finally caught up with him, and he now faces substantial time in prison.”

Gray was found guilty of wire fraud, a federal offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.

As part of his scheme to defraud the victim, Gray presented himself as a billionaire scientist with a Ph.D. from MIT at the helm of a company he was personally funding that was potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. However, Gray did not have a Ph.D., and as of August 2020, both he and the biomedical company were in significant debt.

In or about August 2020, Gray induced the victim to send him $250,000 as a purported investment in the biomedical company. However, Gray used nearly all of the victim’s $250,000 payment to repay a loan that he had taken out from a tenant in the same building where the biomedical company is headquartered in order to make payroll.

Gray’s scheme to defraud the victim also involved the use of fabricated documents and the wholesale invention of a fake mortgage company and a fictitious mortgage broker. Gray directed the victim to a purported mortgage broker that worked for this boutique mortgage company.

Gray’s brazen scheme has finally caught up with him, and he now faces substantial time in prison. The case is a reminder of the importance of due diligence and the need for investors to be cautious of schemes that seem too good to be true.

The conviction is a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

Norman Gray’s conviction serves as a warning to all who would seek to defraud innocent victims through false promises and fabricated documents. The justice system will not hesitate to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.

This article was written by a Grimy Times reporter and edited by our staff. If you have any information about this case or any other crime, please contact us at tips@grimytimes.com.