Founder of Medford biotech who defrauded investors of $7.5M gets 7 years in prison

Frank Reynolds, the founder of Medford biotech PixarBio who claimed his company had developed a painkiller that would replace morphine, was sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding investors of $7.5M.

Reynolds held up a bottle of NeuroRelease in court, insisting that his never-approved painkiller still had value. However, US Senior District Judge Douglas Woodlock called him a “predator” whose comments in court showed he was “absolutely oblivious” to the harm he had inflicted on over 100 investors. In addition to the prison sentence, Woodlock ordered Reynolds to repay the $7.5M to investors, forfeit $280,000, and spend three years on supervised release after he is freed.