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Pleaded Guilty To False Reporting Of Stock Holdings

WASHINGTON (AP) - January 23, 2007 - Former FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford's sentencing on charges he lied about his stock holdings was delayed Tuesday over questions about sentencing guidelines.

Under a deal worked out between his attorney and federal prosecutors, Crawford had agreed earlier to a $50,000 fine and probation.

Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson asked the attorneys to explain why they didn't use certain federal sentencing guidelines in recommending a penalty.

Sentencing was rescheduled for Feb. 27.

Crawford pleaded guilty in October to charges of having a conflict of interest and false reporting of information about stocks that he and his wife owned. The stocks were in food, beverage and medical device companies that Crawford regulated while head of the Food and Drug Administration.

The sentencing deal would spare him the maximum six months in jail he could have faced for the two misdemeanors.

Crawford and his wife, Cathy, made roughly $39,000 from exercising options and in dividends from the stocks they held in the FDA-regulated companies.

In court, Crawford admitted to falsely reporting that he had sold or did not own stock when he continued holding shares in the firms governed by rules of the FDA, which is illegal. Beginning in 2002, Crawford filed seven incorrect financial reports with a government ethics office and Congress, leading to the misdemeanor charges.

Crawford did, however, pay taxes on the dividends and the options he exercised, according to prosecutors.

Though he lied about ownership of the stocks - including under oath before the Senate - government attorneys acknowledged there was no evidence he was "engaged in a concerted scheme to use his high office for personal gain."

Crawford abruptly resigned from the FDA in September 2005 but gave no reason for leaving. He had held the job for two months, following his confirmation by the Senate.