Background: Plaintiffs allege that from January 17, 2018 through June 27, 2022, Enochian and its senior management misrepresented the qualifications of Serhat Gumrukcu, the Company’s founder and “Inventor.” Defendants repeatedly represented Gumrukcu as a medical doctor and world-class disease researcher to the public and based the Company’s entire business model on his purported HIV cure. In truth, Gumrukcu was not a doctor, not a medical researcher, and had a long history of fraudulent business dealings and criminal activity. Gumrukcu is currently imprisoned and awaiting trial on murder charges stemming from allegations that he paid a hitman to kill a former business associate to prevent the associate from derailing Gumrukcu’s work with Enochian.

BFA’s Role: The Court appointed BFA as Lead Counsel for the putative class on October 22, 2023.

Status: On June 28, 2024, the Court denied Enochian’s Motion to Dismiss in its entirety from the bench after oral argument from both parties.  At the hearing, Judge Holcomb commended counsel for “excellent briefing [and] argument” and said he “wish[ed] all lawyers were as skilled and prepared as you are.”  Following a full-day mediation session, and continued futher negotiations, the parties accepted a mediator's recommendation to settle the case.  On December 9, 2024, BFA filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of the proposed class action settlement.