CEO of Medical Device Company Charged in COVID-19 Related Securities Fraud Scheme
Summary
A Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs press release of Friday, December 18, 2020, announcing that Keith Berman, 67, CEO of Decision Diagnostics Inc. (DECN), a California-based medical device company, was charged by indictment with one count of securities fraud and one count of making false statements. The indictment alleges that he defrauded investors through false and misleading statements about the purported development of a new COVID-19 test. The release says investors lost millions of dollars.
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Press Release CEO of Medical Device Company Charged in COVID-19 Related Securities Fraud Scheme Friday, December 18, 2020 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs The chief executive officer (CEO) of a California-based medical device company was indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud investors by making false and misleading statements about the purported development of a new COVID-19 test, leading to millions of dollars in investor losses. Keith Berman, 67, the CEO of Decision Diagnostics Inc. (DECN), was charged by indictment, unsealed today, with one count of securities fraud and one count of making false statements. The indictment alleges that, from February through December 2020, Berman engaged in a scheme to defraud investors by falsely claiming DECN had developed a 15-second test to detect COVID-19 in a finger prick sample of blood. In truth, Berman knew his test was merely an idea and not a validated method of accurately detecting COVID-19, much less an actual product ready for manufacture and sale. According to the indictment, Berman and DECN were in precarious financial condition in the lead up to the pandemic, and Berman wrote in internal emails that he needed a “new story” to “raise millions.” The indictment further alleges that Berman falsely told investors that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was on the verge of approving DECN’s request for emergency use authorization of its new COVID-19 test. In truth, Berman knew that the company lacked the financial resources and insurance necessary to conduct the clinical testing required by the FDA to complete the application process, but concealed these material facts from and misled investors. In an effort to exert political pressure on the FDA and obtain approval of the DECN COVID-19 test without conducting the necessary clinical testing, Berman hired a political consultant to lobby Members of Congress, telling Members of Congress in talking points that the FDA had “moth-balled” the company’s submission and that it remained “stuck in limbo” at or around the same time that Berman was telling investors that the test was on the verge of approval. Between early March and April 23, 2020, DECN’s stock price rose by over 1,500 percent. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the alleged scheme, Berman used an alias, “plutoniumimplosion,” to repeat false and misleading statements to investors on Internet message boards, and lull suspecting investors into inaction by refuting allegations of fraud and threatening potential whistleblowers with civil or criminal sanctions. Berman, using his alias, also projected that demand for the DECN test would be “close to 3 billion [test] kits” and claimed that DECN “is in the forefront no matter how loud the naysayers are . . . But then again the 5-6 message board posters [claiming the DECN test was fraudulent] may be right and Mr. Berman will find himself in prison.” The indictment charges that Berman, in sworn testimony to the SEC, made false statements in which he denied ever posting on the message board. An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form . The Fraud Section uses the Victim Notification System (VNS) to provide victims with case information and updates related to this case. Victims with questions may contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Assistance Unit by calling the Victim Assistance phone line at 1-888-549-3945 or by emailing Victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov . To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas . If you believe you are a victim who has invested in Decision Diagnostics, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/decision-diagnostics The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Christopher Fenton and Assistant Chiefs Jacob Foster and Justin Weitz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn mode about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years . Updated February 5, 2025 Attachment Berman Indictment [PDF, ] Topics Coronavirus Securities, Commodities, & Investment Fraud Components Criminal Division Criminal - Criminal Fraud Section Press Release Number: 20-1374 Related Content Press Release Former Vice President and Controller of Publicly Traded Company Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading A Florida man pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of Florida for his role in an insider trading scheme that netted him over $1.6 million in illicit profits.A Florida... February 4, 2025 Press Release Cryptocurrency Investment Firm Founder Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Thousands of Investors of Over $9M in Ponzi Scheme An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a cryptocurrency investment fraud conspiracy. 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