Ex-CEO Sentenced Over Phony Covid Test
Former Decision Diagnostics CEO Keith Berman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a securities fraud scheme involving a Covid-targeting medical device that he claimed was on the verge of being approved by FDA, but in reality did not exist. The scheme resulted in about $28 million in investor losses and obstruction of a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, the government contends.
Through the publicly traded company, Berman falsely claimed that Decision Diagnostics had developed a 15-second test to detect Covid-19 in a finger prick sample of blood, the government says. “Berman knew that his company was unwilling and unable to meet the clinical testing required by the FDA but concealed these material facts and misled investors,” it says.