US Marshals arrested Ronald Fischer, a former anesthesiologist and one of Rhode Island’s long-running fugitives, on July 16 after more than two decades on the run. According to Stat News, Fischer had been living at least part of that time as Richard Graydon, a name used in biotech executive roles.
The arrest also forced a public-company paper trail into view. In a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, California-based Immix Biopharma said it had terminated Richard Graydon on Friday for “reasons unrelated to his activities at the Company.” Immix added that, because Graydon had worked there only briefly, management did not expect a material effect on its business.
Law enforcement says Graydon was Fischer, now 70, who had been licensed as an anesthesiologist in Rhode Island and Massachusetts before his medical licenses were revoked. Fischer fled during a 2005 trial in which he was accused of raping a woman during a date aboard his yacht, Lion King.
According to the Providence Journal, Fischer sent his lawyer an email days before closing arguments with the subject line “Goodbye.” In the message, Fischer wrote that he expected an acquittal but would not accept the risk of conviction and severe punishment. He said he had decided to leave the United States for another country where he had planned a “good, safe, secure and comfortable life.”
He was later convicted in absentia. Authorities had wanted him since then for failure to appear, first-degree sexual assault, and flight to avoid prosecution.
A prior case and a long list of aliases
The Boston Globe reported that Fischer had faced an earlier allegation in 1994 involving another woman on another yacht, The Dreammaker. In that case, he pleaded guilty to assault and battery and received a two-year suspended sentence. His medical licenses were revoked after that case, according to the Globe.
Police had identified more than a dozen aliases tied to Fischer during his years as a fugitive. His law enforcement profile described him as a skilled yachtsman with international connections and said he had appeared on America’s Most Wanted.
What Fischer did during the full 20-year period remains unclear. The biotech record, though, shows the Graydon identity was not just a fake name on a dock receipt.
The biotech résumé
Stat reported that Richard Graydon self-published a 2017 book called The Genetic Risks of Cancer: The Effects of DNA, Genomics and Inheritance on Aging and Survival. The book described Graydon as an oncologist and former chief medical officer in biotech and drug development. Stat said the Amazon listing had no reviews.
In October 2022, Atossa Therapeutics announced it had hired Richard Graydon as interim chief medical officer. Steven Quay, Atossa’s chief executive, said in the company’s statement at the time that Graydon’s experience in CAR-T cell therapy matched Atossa’s interest in cell therapy.
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, including work at Merck and Johnson & Johnson. The company also said Graydon had helped lead applications for seven approved drugs, including Darzalex, Carvykti, Keytruda, and Imbruvica, and claimed he earned an MD and PhD from Stanford University and trained at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Stat said it could not verify those credentials. Immix did not respond to Stat’s requests for comment.
The US Marshals Service said Fischer was captured aboard a 56-foot sailing vessel called The Silver Lining while on New York’s East River. US Marshals and the US Coast Guard intercepted the boat and took him into custody “without incident.”
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.
