Neurendo Pharma CEO Robert Tomlinson Sentenced to 4 Years for Pocketing $2.2 Million From Investors

Case from 2017–2018 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: Dec. 12, 2018). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Robert Tomlinson, the former CEO of Neurendo Pharma LLC in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, was sentenced on Dec. 12, 2018, to four years in federal prison for pocketing $2.2 million from investors, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

How the scheme worked

According to prosecutors [1] [2]:

1. The pitch: From 2014 to 2017, Tomlinson told individual and corporate investors their money would run Neurendo and market an experimental type II diabetes drug called GNTI, and that they would get a substantial payout once a major pharmaceutical company bought the drug rights.
2. The reality: He used most of the money for his family's lifestyle, including a property in Bay Harbor, Michigan, and dues at the Bay Harbor Golf Club and Bay Harbor Yacht Club.
3. Other uses: At least $100,000 went to his own futures trading account, $33,000 to donations to the Washington National Cathedral, and more to mortgage payments on a property in Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood.
4. Structuring: He made dozens of cash withdrawals of slightly less than $10,000 from Neurendo's account to avoid federal reporting rules, prosecutors said.

The person sentenced

Robert Tomlinson, 69 at sentencing, of Hoffman Estates, Ill. [1]

• Arrest (Nov. 28, 2017): charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud [2].
• Plea: pleaded guilty in 2018 to one count of wire fraud.
• Sentence (Dec. 12, 2018): 48 months in prison, imposed by U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer.
• Investigation: FBI Chicago.

Red flags

• Promises of a big payout "when a major company buys us" with no signed deal or term sheet.
• No audited financials or independent board oversight at a private company raising money.
• Founders whose spending on homes and clubs seems out of step with a pre-revenue startup.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Ask for audited financial statements, a cap table and proof of how prior raises were spent before investing in a private company.
2. Check whether the offering was filed with the SEC (Form D on EDGAR) and your state securities regulator.
3. Report suspected offering fraud to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Robert Tomlinson, Hoffman Estates, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Pallmeyer)	Arrested Nov. 28, 2017; pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2018; sentenced Dec. 12, 2018, to 48 months	[1], [2]

The sentence was imposed in 2018; we have not found a source on any later proceedings.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "CEO of Suburban Pharmaceutical Company Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Misappropriating $2.2 Million from Investors," Dec. 12, 2018. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/ceo-suburban-pharmaceutical-company-sentenced-4-years-federal-prison-misappropriating
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "CEO of Suburban Pharmaceutical Company Arrested on Federal Fraud Charge for Allegedly Misappropriating at Least $1.5 Million from Investors," Nov. 28, 2017. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/ceo-suburban-pharmaceutical-company-arrested-federal-fraud-charge-allegedly

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