Two friends of jailed ImClone Systems founder and former chief executive officer Samuel Waksal were arrested yesterday on insider trading charges, prosecutors said.

A member of ImClone’s scientific advisory board, Zvi Fuks, 68, and Sabina Ben-Yehuda, 51, both of Manhattan, were arrested on charges brought in U.S. District Court in Manhattan stemming from their sales of ImClone stock on December 27, 2001.

Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Fuks and Ms. Ben-Yehuda made the sales after they were tipped by Waksal that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would not review ImClone’s experimental cancer drug, Erbitux.

Waksal, 56, a longtime friend of Martha Stewart, is serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison after admitting he tipped his daughter to sell her ImClone shares. Aliza Waksal was not charged with a crime.

Stewart just completed a five-month prison sentence after she was convicted of lying to federal investigators who suspected she sold her ImClone stock because she heard the Waksals were planning to sell theirs.

In a criminal complaint unsealed yesterday, the government charged Mr. Fuks and Ms. Ben-Yehuda with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud.

According to the complaint, Waksal learned the disappointing news the evening of December 26, 2001, and caused his daughter on the morning of December 27,2001, to sell $2.4 million in ImClone stock and tried to sell nearly double that amount from an account in his name.

Then, the complaint alleged, Waksal tipped Ms. Ben-Yehuda about the FDA news and that it would negatively effect ImClone stock.

According to the complaint, Ms. Ben-Yehuda asked whether she should tell Mr. Fuks the news and Waksal said she should. The complaint said Ms. Ben-Yehuda and Mr. Fuks had a very close personal relationship.

Before the market opened, Mr. Fuks placed an order to sell $5.3 million in ImClone stock and Ms. Ben-Yehuda placed an order to sell $73,453 of the stock from her accounts, prosecutors said.

After the FDA development was announced, the value of ImClone stock fell by about 16%.

If convicted, Mr. Fuks and Ms. Ben-Yehuda each would face a maximum of 10 years in prison on the most serious charge and maximum fines of $1 million or twice the value of gains from crimes.

It was not immediately clear which lawyers would represent Mr. Fuks and Ms. Ben-Yehuda, who were held for appearances in court.