The Turkish biotech tycoon accused of plotting the murder of a Vermont father killed in 2018 is a former magician who allegedly forged his own medical degree to deceive US healthcare executives, including Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Serhat Gumrukcu, 39, is the founder of Enochian Biosciences, which claims to be developing cancer, hepatitis, and HIV treatments.
The company is valued at $137 million on the NASDAQ, of which he is thought to own $98 million.
Hindenburg Research’s work is based on a ‘entirely preclinical pipeline of claimed miracle cures,’ according to the company.
Gumrukcu founded the company, claiming extensive medical training and a PhD from a Russian university, but he is not licensed to practice in the United States.
Additionally, according to the prosecution, his degree cannot be verified with certainty.
Gumrukcu was detained at LAX Airport last month on suspicion of planning the 2018 murder of Gregory Davis, a colleague who the government believes was going to report him for fraud.
He is currently being held in federal custody in California on suspicion of planning a murder. The 39-year-lawyer old’s adamantly maintains his innocence.
The day after a mysterious man pretended to be a US Marshal and showed up at Davis’ home demanding to speak with him, Davis was discovered shot dead in a snowy bank by the side of the road close to his home.
In order to prevent Davis from informing the FBI, the prosecution claims that Gumrukcu hired the hitman, later identified as Jerry Banks, through two middlemen to kidnap and kill Davis.
According to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, the two had entered an oil deal years earlier but had broken up.
Gumrukcu and his brother lied to Davis about the profits of their deal, in Davis’ opinion. Gumrukcu had also been accused of writing bad checks at around the same time in a California state court.
He can be seen in YouTube videos from 2002, when he was still a teenager, performing magic tricks in Turkey. He later moved to the US to woo Silicon Valley and the healthcare industry.
His virtual entertainment page shows him blending in with superstars like Helen Mirren and Boy George,and his organization was so great with its examination into relieving sicknesses that it got the attention of Anthony Fauci.
An email acquired by The Wall Street Journal uncovers that Fauci told his staff at the National Health Institute to meet with Gumrukcu and his associate to talk about their investigation into restoring hepatitis B.
‘[The co-worker] will be at the NIH tomorrow with a scientist who has some very interesting data on hepatitis B.
‘I was supposed to meet with them but I am swamped with the coronavirus,’ he told a staff member in the email dated February 2, 2020.
It’s unclear how he raised funding for Enochian, or whether or not any of its treatments are in use.
Federal prosecutors say Gumrukcu and his brother – who has not been in the US for years and who lives in Turkey – were ‘the only people who appeared to have a serious dispute with Davis or any motive for Davis’s execution.’
In 2017, Davis was threatening them about ‘going to the FBI with evidence’ that the were ‘defrauding him’ in a multi-million dollar oil deal.
The deal was struck in 2015 and it’s unclear what the details are, but prosecutors say the Turkish brothers ‘failed to perform on the deal and made various claims about their attempts to perform’.
‘Davis believed that the Gumrukcu’s lied to him about various matters. During that same time, Serhat Gumrukcu was facing felony fraud charges in California state court.’
At the same time, he was in the midst of obtaining a majority stake in Enochian. The indictment alleges that any complications surrounding the oil deal would have jeopardized him obtaining a majority stake in Enochian.
Banks, the hitman who is charged with posing as the US Marshal, is friends with Aron Ethridge, a friend of Berk Eratay who worked for Gumrukcu.
Ethridge has confessed his role in the plot and is expected to testify against the three other men. He said he was hired by Eratay and Gumrukcu to ‘find someone to ‘murder Davis and that he enlisted Banks to kill Davis.’
Between June and October 2017, bank records reveal Gumrukcu sent Eratay $150,000. Eratay withdrew the cash ‘in increments of $9,000 – $1,000 below the $10,000 currency reporting requirement.’
The proffer claims he has a ‘documented history’ of fraud that includes him being arrested and charged in 2017 with felony fraud.
Gumrukcu defrauded a Turkish investor out of almost $1million in a real estate investment. He told the investor that he was spending the funds on purchasing and renovating a Los Angeles home, when in fact he was spending the money on other matters.
‘Gumrukcu also provided the investor with bogus documents, supposedly prepared by an attorney. The other alleged fraud scheme in the state case involved bounced checks connected to his dealings with Davis’.
According to the proffer, he pleaded guilty in January 2019 to one count of felony fraud, then reduced it to a misdemeanor, which is legal in California.
According to the documents, he was arrested in Turkey in 2012 for fraud but fled the country while the case was pending.
‘He has remained outside Turkey since then, avoiding that prosecution.’
‘In 2020, he successfully sought to dismiss the Turkish case from outside the country. In spite of his failure, he chose not to return to face the charges’.
Prosecutors, in their case against bail, said he was a clear flight risk.
‘Common sense suggests that Gumrukcu would hide or flee rather than spend the rest of his life in jail or face the death penalty. Put simply, a wealthy citizen of a foreign country charged with murder should be detained pending trial,’ they argued.
The judge agreed and detained him until his next court date.
Since his arrest, Enochian has attempted to distance itself from him.
In a letter to shareholders earlier this month, CEO Mark Dybul attempted to assuage shareholders’ concerns by claiming the allegations were a “smear campaign” launched by short-sellers looking to profit from the company’s problems.
Following the arrest of Gumrukcu, Enochian’s stock dropped from $5.88 to $3.76.
Gumrukcu has been detained pending his next court appearance.