Former NASDAQ-Listed Exec Sentenced To Life In Prison Over Murder-For-Hire Plot

The First Assistant U.S. Attorney for Vermont announced that on November 24, 2025, Chief Judge Christina Reiss sentenced Serhat Gumrukcu, 43, of Los Angeles—formerly the ”scientific founder”, “inventor” and largest shareholder of publicly listed Enochian Biosciences, which eventually became Renovaro—to life in prison for the January 6, 2018, murder-for-hire of Gregory Davis in Barnet, Vermont.

Gumrukcu was first brought to the attention of market participants by former short seller Hindenburg Research back in 2022 who called his company a $600 million Nasdaq-listed scam “based on a lifetime of lies”. 

A jury convicted him in April 2025 of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the DOJ. 

Gumrukcu had formerly been praised by Enochian (then Renovaro) CEO Mark Dybul – who once worked under Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Health – with Dybul writing in November 2019 that he was “one of those rare geniuses that is not bound by scientific discipline or dogma”. Hindenburg then accused Dybul of turning a “blind eye to outrageous fraud” perpetrated by Gumrukcu in a stunning follow up report after the “inventor’s” death. 

The Department of Justice press release says that his co-conspirators were sentenced in September 2025: Berk Eratay received 110 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release; Aron Ethridge received 140 months followed by five years of supervised release; and Jerry Banks received 200 months followed by five years of supervised release.

According to prosecutors, Gumrukcu ordered Davis’s killing because Davis threatened legal action over a failed oil-commodities deal that was also the basis of Gumrukcu’s wire-fraud conviction. Gumrukcu also feared that Davis would interfere with a biotech merger involving his claimed HIV “cure.”

Evidence showed that Eratay enlisted Ethridge, who then hired Banks. On January 6, 2018, Banks posed as a Deputy U.S. Marshal and abducted Davis from his Vermont home; Davis’s body was found the next day nearby. Communications, financial records, and location data documented the dispute between Gumrukcu and Davis and tied Gumrukcu, Eratay, Ethridge, and Banks to the crime.

At sentencing, Melissa Davis, the victim’s widow, thanked investigators and prosecutors. She praised the Vermont State Police “for every call, every update,” the FBI for its “coordination across state lines” and “relentless pursuit of truth,” and the prosecution team whose “strength, commitment, and unwavering pursuit of justice…will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

She said she often felt proud in court, “knowing God had appointed each of you to pursue justice for Gregg,” and also expressed gratitude to her victim advocate, the U.S. Marshals Service, and Chief Judge Reiss.

A supposed mind-reading magician turned biomedical entrepreneur, Gumrukcu mingled with Hollywood elites and earned millions through unconventional medical ventures. But during his five-week trial in Burlington, he faced a far different spotlight—three days on the witness stand, denying involvement in the 2018 murder-for-hire of former business partner Gregory Davis.

Though he claimed innocence, Gumrukcu admitted under oath to lying to authorities and said he’d told “so many lies” in past deals he couldn’t remember them all. He acknowledged buying a fake medical degree from Russia, calling it “cheating,” and described his younger self as “arrogant,” advocating unorthodox treatments like leeches and mistletoe.

As part of their investigation into Enochian and Gumrukcu, Hindenburg Research ordered the very same degree to prove that it was fake back in 2022. 

Way back when, @HindenburgRes published on Enochian Biosciences, now Renovaro $RENB. Their scientific genius, Serhat Gumrukcu, just took the stand this week to deny he hired someone to murder a dude he defrauded. But he DID admit, just as Hindenburg uncovered, that he bought a… pic.twitter.com/G7cfLCV1zB

— Codfish Johnny (@CodfishJohnny) April 17, 2025

Prosecutors argued Gumrukcu had Davis killed to prevent him from exposing fraud tied to a failed oil deal—one that could have derailed a lucrative biomedical contract with Enochian BioSciences.

“Gregg Davis was a problem for the defendant,” said prosecutor Paul Van de Graaf. “It was the defendant who paid for the murder.”

Van de Graaf outlined how Gumrukcu financed the $200,000 plot, with testimony from three co-conspirators, including former assistant Berk Eratay. Eratay claimed Gumrukcu told him he wanted to “get rid of a problem,” prompting Eratay to enlist others, including hitman Jerry Banks. Banks testified he posed as a U.S. marshal, kidnapped Davis, and executed him in rural Vermont.

Defense attorney Ethan Balogh argued it was Eratay who “ran the op,” not Gumrukcu. He said the funds were meant for a cryptocurrency project and portrayed Davis as untrustworthy. Balogh accused the three key witnesses—who took plea deals to avoid life sentences—of lying to save themselves: “These men were all going to die in the cage.”

Prosecutors countered that none of them had a reason to kill Davis—except Gumrukcu. As Van de Graaf said, even “peaceful” men can outsource their violence.

As Hindenburg noted in a subsequent report, the story of Gumrukcu’s rise and fall, up to awaiting trial was chronicled in a podcast produced by Amazon’s Wondery (Spotify, Apple).