Report: Fugitive doctor appeared to work as LA executive

A fugitive doctor who spent two decades on Rhode Island's most-wanted list has allegedly been living a secret life as a high-flying executive while evading the law.

Ronald Fischer, 70, was arrested Thursday by US Marshals and the Coast Guard aboard a sailboat off the coast of New Jersey.

The former anesthesiologist had been on the run since 2005, when he disappeared from Rhode Island during his trial on charges stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted 46-year-old Cheryl Gingerich aboard his yacht.  

Officials discovered that Fischer had been operating the sailboat under the name Richard Graydon - one of the many aliases investigators say he used while hiding from authorities. 

Dr. Richard Graydon is the same name as the chief medical officer hired by Los Angeles-based biotech company Immix Biopharma in March.

Graydon's biography on the Immix website, which has since been deleted, included a photo that bears a resemblance to Fischer. 

'Dr. Graydon is a board-certified hematologist-oncologist with over 20 years of experience in clinical development,' the biography stated.

Filing Reveals Graydon Was Fired

It claimed that he previously worked at Merck Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson, 'where he led new and supplemental new drug applications and biologics license applications for seven approved drugs.'

The biography also stated that he received his MD and PhD from Stanford University and trained at Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital.

On Monday, Immix filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing that Graydon had been fired.

'As of July 17, 2026, Richard Graydon has been terminated and is no longer with the Company for reasons unrelated to his activities at the Company,' Immix wrote.

'Given his short tenure, management believes there is no material effect on the business.'

Seattle-based biotech company Atossa Therapeutics announced the hiring of Graydon as its interim chief medical officer in October 2022.

'We are privileged to welcome Richard to Atossa, where his deep experience in CAR-T cell therapy fits well with our current strategic direction as we explore our opportunities in cell therapy,' Atossa's CEO Steven Quay said at the time.

'We look forward to collaborating with Richard to assess our strongest options and develop a pathway that provides our shareholders with strong results and enhanced shareholder value.' 

Johnson & Johnson Disputes Employment Claim

The announcement also claimed that Graydon previously worked as the Senior Director of Clinical Development at Johnson & Johnson.

However, when contacted by the Daily Mail, a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson denied that he worked for the company.

'This individual was never a Johnson & Johnson employee,' the spokesperson said.  

The Daily Mail contacted Immix, Atossa, Merck, Stanford University, Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital, the US Marshals Service and the US Attorney's Office District of Rhode Island for comment.

Despite fleeing before the conclusion of the sexual assault trial, Fischer was later convicted in absentia of first-degree sexual assault and remained wanted for failing to appear in court and flight to avoid prosecution.

For years, authorities described him as a skilled sailor with international connections who had used multiple aliases while staying one step ahead of law enforcement.

Fischer was featured multiple times on America's Most Wanted as detectives and Rhode Island State Police chased numerous reported sightings over the years.

New Information Led to Coordinated Operation

His decades-long escape finally came to an end after investigators received new information about his whereabouts and launched a coordinated operation involving the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, the FBI, US Marshals and the Coast Guard, according to the press release.

'You can run, but you cannot hide from justice. Thanks to the determined, coordinated efforts of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and the dedicated prosecutors in this office, Ronald Fischer will now return to Rhode Island to face the consequences he sought to evade for more than 20 years,' said First Assistant United States Attorney Charles C. Calenda. 

Gingerich and her family told NBC 10 that they were relieved to learn Fischer had finally be caught.

'I always lived in fear of seeing him again because I never felt that he was far away,' Gingerich said.

'There's the old adage about mother's intuition,' her son, Jan Hilfer said. 'My mother said that she had a feeling that he was hiding in plain sight. She had said that for years and then, you know, she was correct.'