California biotech tycoon found guilty of plotting murder of rival
What's the story
Serhat Gumrukcu, 42, founder of Enochian Biosciences from Los Angeles, has been convicted of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting Gregory Davis, his former business partner and father of six. The scheme followed a failed oil deal, after Davis threatened to sue Gumrukcu over the collapsed transaction. Davis was abducted from his Vermont home in 2018 and later found shot at the base of a snowbank.
Investigation details
Banks lured Davis into his vehicle before abducting him
Gumrukcu allegedly enlisted his friend Berk Eratay and a second intermediary Aron Ethridge to engage hitman Jerry Banks. On January 6, 2018, Banks impersonated a US marshal and lured Davis into his vehicle before abducting him from his Danville home. In 2017, Gumrukcu was negotiating a multimillion-dollar biotech merger through Enochian Biosciences, centered on his claimed HIV cure — a high-stakes deal prosecutors said intensified his motive to silence Davis.
Evidence trail
Investigators found evidence Gumrukcu was involved in Davis's kidnapping
After Davis's murder, investigators found emails and messages showing the conflict between him and Gumrukcu over the failed oil deal. This led to two interviews with the FBI for Gumrukcu. However, he lied in both interviews. Eventually, cellphone data, purchase records, bank documents, emails and messages revealed his involvement in Davis's kidnapping and murder along with those of his co-conspirators. Gumrukcu was arrested in May 2022 and convicted in April 2025 of murder-for-hire, conspiracy, and wire fraud.
Sentencing outcomes
Details of co-conspirators and their sentences
Gumrukcu's co-conspirators Banks and Ethridge were arrested in April 2022, while Eratay was arrested in May. Banks was sentenced to 200 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release, while Eratay got 110 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Ethridge was also sentenced to 140 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his role in the crime. Gumrukcu faces a mandatory life sentence.