Overview
- New York Attorney General Letitia James filed the case in Manhattan under the Martin Act, accusing Kramer of selling shares with nonpublic knowledge of problems at Emergent’s Baltimore plant.
- Investigators say he established the trading plan in late 2020 and sold stock through Feb. 8, 2021, shortly before analysts’ scrutiny and a sustained share decline.
- Emergent agreed to pay a $900,000 civil penalty for approving the plan and said it will strengthen its insider-trading policy.
- The FDA halted vaccine production at the facility on April 16, 2021 after cross-contamination between AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson work, leading to the destruction of tens of millions of doses.
- Kramer retired in June 2023; his lawyer called the lawsuit baseless, while the company said it has taken steps to improve transparency as its stock has fallen about 90% since the alleged sales.