The CFO of New Haven biotech company that receives federal research grants was recently charged with embezzling nearly $1 million.

Thomas Malone was the CFO of Artificial Cell Technologies Inc. (ACT), a small biotech company that works on developing better ways to deliver malaria and Respiratory Syncytial Virus vaccines to affected populations. In addition to receiving funding from private investors, ACT has received approximately $4.1 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health since 2008.

It is alleged that ACT’s CEO discovered that Malone was paying himself approximately $660,000 in annual salary, far above the approximately $281,000 in salary he was entitled to receive. Upon further review of payroll and other financial records, ACT’s CEO discovered that, for several years, Malone had been writing checks to himself that were disguised as bonuses, that he had been giving himself unauthorized additional salary payments, that he had been using the ACT credit card for personal expenditures and that he had used ACT’s funds to make unauthorized donations to an organization that Malone personally supported. A subsequent forensic audit revealed that Malone had embezzled approximately $950,000 from ACT.

The complaint charges Malone with theft from a program involving federal funds, an offense that carries up to 10 years in prison.

Malone was released on a $50,000 bond.