Keith Berman, former CEO and director of Decision Diagnostics Corp., pleaded guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Mr. Berman of Westlake Village, Calif., and Decision Diagnostics Corp. struggled financially in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic. In internal emails he wrote that he needed a "new story" to "raise millions," according to a Dec. 8 news release from the Justice Department.
From February through December 2020, Mr. Berman schemed to defraud investors by falsely claiming that Decision Diagnostics Corp. had developed a 15-second test to detect COVID-19 in a finger prick sample of blood, according the Justice Department.
Mr. Berman falsely told investors that the FDA was on the verge of approving the company's request for emergency use authorization of its test. He also allegedly used a fake persona to spout false and misleading statements to investors on internet message boards and direct an investor to write false and threatening letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to block its investigation of the company.
Mr. Berman faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.