Ex-FDA chief charged with lying about stock activities

Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford was charged Monday with lying about owning stock in companies that were regulated by his agency.

The Justice Department accused him of falsely reporting he had sold stock in firms governed by FDA rules, the Associated Press reported. Justice Department filings in U.S. District Court in Washington say Crawford also failed to report income from exercising stock options in Embrex, a biotech company regulated by the FDA.

Crawford resigned from the agency in September 2005, just two months after Senate confirmation and a long stint as acting commissioner.