Exec Tied To Harvard, MIT Pleads Guilty In Federal Poison Case

BOSTON — An former executive with a Massachusetts biotechnology company who has ties to Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be sentenced Aug. 18 after pleading guilty in federal court in Boston Monday to one charge of obstruction of justice.

Ishtiaq Ali Saaem, 37, of Allentown, PA, was charged with multiple felonies in March and accused of trying to make poison, as well as embezzling $275,000 from the company he worked for in 2015 and 2016.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said Saaem ordered 100 packets of castor bean, which can be used to make ricin, in 2015. He initially told investigators he had accidentally bought 100 packets online instead of one, and that he had wanted to plant the seeds to decorate his apartment in Cambridge. He also lied to investigators about his knowledge of ricin.

Ricin can be extracted as a powder or mist from castor beans. A small amount can be deadly within 36 to 72 hours after exposure.

On July 2, 2015 — the same day he was questioned by investigators — Saaem used his computer to research extracting cyanide from apple seeds. He also visited Websites with titles like "What is the most lethal poison?" and "The five deadly posions that can be cooked up in a kitchen," according to court documents.

In January 2020, Saaem was scheduled before a federal grand jury. On that day he admitted he lied in earlier interviews with investigators. He told investigators he became interested in making ricin and convallatoxin, a poison found in lily of the valley plants that are native to New England, after watching the television show "Breaking Bad."

The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. In a plea agreement with Saaem's attorneys, prosecutors are asking for a 1-2 year prison sentence, 3 years supervised release and fines.

Saaem is also accused of embezzling $275,000 from the company he worked at. The U.S. Attorney's Office did not release the name of the company Saaem worked for. Saaem holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and is associate director of the Broad Institute of Technology at MIT and Harvard, according to his LinkedIn profile.