Lester Crawford, who resigned as FDA commissioner in September 2005, likely will face no prison time as punishment for false reporting and conflicts of interest related to ownership of stocks in companies regulated by the agency, the Washington Post reports (Washington Post, 1/20). Under an agreement with federal prosecutors, Crawford likely will face a $50,000 fine and probation (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 1/19). Crawford in October 2006 pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges from the Department of Justice in U.S. District Court. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison. According to DOJ, Crawford and his wife owned stock in a number of FDA-regulated companies -- such as Wal-Mart; poultry biotechnology company Embrex; food and beverage company PepsiCo; food distribution company Sysco; and Kimberly-Clark, which manufacturers some consumer health care products -- when he held senior positions at the agency but failed to disclose the holdings and made false statements about stocks he and his wife owned (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/18/06). Crawford is scheduled to receive his sentence on Monday. U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said, "One of the most important principles of our ethics laws is that public officials cannot have a financial interest in any decision that they make. Lester Crawford, who held one of the most important jobs in government, blatantly violated these principles. Today, he is being held accountable for his actions" (CQ HealthBeat, 1/19).