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Court filings suggest personal insolvency, hence public defender.
In order to pay 'a penny' in restitution, it is first necessary to have 'a penny' to pay, and it seems he has no assets to go after.
From earlier pleadings, it looks like the house he lived in was the property of his now estranged common law wife and mother to his son, and the contention seems to be that she chucked him out in a fit of pique when the '5-0' came and dragged him from out of her bed in handcuffs at 6am.
I can only imagine that subsequent revelations as to the use to which he put some of the proceeds of his crime (i.e. all those online chats with ladies of $negotiable affection) would only have exacerbated her feelings in this regard!
search 'Keith Berman Appeal' and you can listen to a recording of the hearing.
Anything on today's hearing? Links to filings?
I don't see any docs about the restitution phase of the case. Did that ever take place? Has our pathetic friend paid a penny in restitution?
Is there a case number for this? Did they mention what grounds the appeal is on? An appeal of the sentencing, I assume? Due to the poor baby's health? Can he appeal the outcome when he pled guilty?
Oral arguments in KB appeal hearing scheduled for .... wait for it... 9.30 am. Tuesday April 1st 2025.
April Fools day??
Look... I've had my popcorn.
I think they are just trolling him now!
I don't think I can watch any more!
Nice work IP - Hey Keith, how will the hockey mask fit in prison?
Transcript of the sentencing hearing is up...
A little bed time reading for the DECN watchers....
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.225086/gov.uscourts.dcd.225086.204.0.pdf
As shown by the victim impact statements, these
weren't just corporate investors or private family offices
that invested. Real middle-class Americans believed you,
invested their life savings in DECN and are now living with
the consequences.
One victim says that he lost about half his
savings. Another described having to curtail travel plans
because of the lost money and that he now has to look into a
home equity loan.
Another couple worries they might not be able to
retire at all after investing about $140,000 in your
fraudulent scheme.
And another who tried to warn others about your
scheme ended up moving because of the threats he received
and he says he's lost faith in our law enforcement system as
a result.
These are very real financial, emotional and
psychological harms that you caused.
More, even once the SEC caught on to your schemes,
you doubled down on your scheme, created a nom de guerre to
undermine their investigation, attacked the integrity and
credibility of the SEC staff member involved and anyone else
who dared to raise questions about your actions and worked
to encourage people to continue to invest in DECN on false
pretense.
To a large extent, this worked. I think
Mr. Fenton is right that your actions caused the wasting of
valuable FDA time at a time when that agency was desperately
trying to provide help for people who were sick and scared
about the pandemic.
I think that he's also right in describing you
tricking victims into writing letters to agencies that
really were against their own self-interest and that were
attempting to stymie the efforts to stop your fraud.
And I think your attacks on Investigator Perkins
are despicable. It was only after the DOJ indicted you that
your scheme finally unraveled. But even that didn't really
stop you. I find by a preponderance of the evidence that
you tampered with witnesses and obstructed the investigation
through your contacts with Victims 1 and 2 specifically and
other victims throughout 2021 and 2022 and that you engaged
in additional fraudulent conduct through entering into loan
agreements you had no intention of repaying, all in
violation of your release conditions.
This is significant, shocking additional
misconduct, the extent of which I rarely see even with
hardened criminals. Even your attorneys admit that it took
having your release conditions revoked for you finally to
wake up to the severity of your actions.
I also have very little evidence of remorse here
for me to consider in your benefit
I find the aggravating factors include the fact
that you took advantage of the COVID pandemic to defraud
people, that you so personally and intentionally attacked
investigators trying to stop your fraud scheme and that you
continued to violate the law and your release conditions
even after your indictment.
I also agree with Mr. Fenton that there's a strong
need for general deterrence here, recognizing how vulnerable
we as a country are to fraud during disaster circumstances
and the need to send a clear message that that type of crime
will be punished severely.
These factors frankly suggest that a sentence near
the top of the statutory maximum would be appropriate.
On the other hand, there are several significant
mitigating factors here, including my belief that you hoped
to develop a COVID test, your age and your serious health
conditions.
But for these factors, I would be sentencing you
to a much higher sentence than I intend to impose.
If all that is required for 'winning' is simply not be locked up in prison, that's a pretty low bar..
I would argue that your second point is a bit....depressing?
If all that is required for 'winning' is simply not be locked up in prison, that's a pretty low bar..
That's a rough life. At any age.
It really hits home when you look at the handbook for that prison...which is of course definitely not as strict as others.
That's a rough life. At any age.
I'm sure he is a bit lonely, and would love to hear from us.
Our favorite CEO has a new "home". He was transferred to a medical facility prison in Fort Worth, Texas. He has a birthday coming up, on Aug 31. He is allowed to receive mail of course, so how about sending him a birthday card in a couple of weeks? I'm sure he is a bit lonely, and would love to hear from us.
KEITH BERMAN
Register Number: 22728-509
Age: 70
Race: White
Sex: Male
Located at: Fort Worth FMC
3150 HORTON ROAD
FORT WORTH, TX 76119
To send mail to an inmate, use the following:
KEITH BERMAN
Register Number: 22728-509
FMC Fort Worth
FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTER
P.O. BOX 15330
FORT WORTH, TX 76119
The BOP encourages inmates to write to family, friends, and other community contacts to maintain these ties during incarceration. Written correspondence is classified as either general or special mail.
General Correspondence
"General correspondence" is opened and inspected by staff for both contraband and content that might threaten the security or good order of the institution.
Special Mail
Special incoming mail that is specially marked as such, can only be opened only in the presence of the inmate. It too will be inspected for physical contraband and the qualification of any enclosures as special mail.
Of course, this is all public information, available to anyone.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.225086/gov.uscourts.dcd.225086.213.1.pdf
He's asking to be transferred to FPCs Yankton or Duluth, or else FMC Rochester.
Which is proof that he does remain incarcerated!
Sure, these are minimum security facilities. But while the rest of us can all sleep in rooms equipped with door handles on the inside, it will still be some time before that basic dignity is extended in Mr Berman's direction.
I'm just concerned that somehow, Mr Slimeball, worked his way out of this....
I'm just concerned that somehow, Mr Slimeball, worked his way out of this....
"Federal Inmate number 22728-509
Release Date: UNKNOWN
Location: Not in BOP custody"
BOP = Federal Bureau of Prisons
He has a birthday coming up, and I wanted to send him a card, along with an offer to buy his non working 1973 Opel GT. My idea is to rent out rides in it to former DECN shareholders!
Truth, once again, funnier than fiction.....
"The PSR describes Mr. Berman's financial condition as "appear[ing] to have negative net worth... with no monthly cash flow... [and no] ability to pay a fine in this case, in addition to restitution." PSR at 21 (ECF No. 191). Mr. Berman's assets are dwarfed by his substantial amount of debt. Mr. Berman's assets total $2,460, comprised of $1,500 from an inoperable 1973 Opel GT, $160 dollars in his checking and savings accounts, $100 in DECN stock, and $700 in various electronic equipment. Id. at 19. Mr. Berman's liabilities are extensive, totaling $345,000 owed to financial institutions and other merchants. Id. This results in a substantial negative net worth totaling $342,540. Id.
Mr. Berman's projected earnings and other income are similarly grim. Mr. Berman's age and numerous, serious health issues stimy his ability to begin paying restitution. "
Mere mortals might drive a non working 1973 Opel, but only Biotech CEO's like Berman have the GT model!
FYI, the Government is asking for restitution in the amount of $1,043,618.20
So did Ken bring the goalie mask to prison? Hi Ken!
Plutonium has a new alias at last...
Federal Inmate number 22728-509...
As an aside, thanks to all of the stretching of word meanings in these communications, perhaps Keith should have come up with a scheme to sell quotation marks?
Nice to see this was resolved properly after all this time and strife. Been checking this board every few months. Thanks IPWatcher for keeping us up to date.
I suffered minor losses, and also remain the "proud" "owner" of 157 "free" shares from the big reverse split forever ago that would have cost me over $300 (iirc) to unrestrict. My only other memento, after decades of following this from when it was ISCR and touted by the "made" and "mayd" handles on Yahoo (two of which inadvertently outed themselves as the same person, despite the feint of stylistic differences, which I pointed out only to be disparaged and ignored), is this private message from Pluto after I questioned the invisibility of the "settlement' in the financials. I post it here simply as a relic for posterity:
Icon for plutoniumimplosion
plutoniumimplosion
Sunday, March 26, 2017 11:34:01 AM
So much time has been wasted discussing nonsense. So it can now be shown that management and the BOD didn't dupe or steal from or hide the settlement from shareholders (and people acting like shareholders who use message boards to fulfill a negative agenda).
So almost a year later what has been proven? NOTHING! Now one of the biggest critics of management and the BOD and the guy who raised the question in the first place in his attempt to put together enough facts to bring a class action lawsuit (because that's what he does), well ... this guy is now claiming credit for unwinding the enigma and finding -- NOTHING.
Isn't there a more important question in need of asking? Something like, why did management settle the lawsuit? And by settling in the matter that they did, wasn't there a plan in place by management?
And, you can get that answer by looking at the pharmatechdirect.com Web page.
How many will look? I predict, less than a handful.
As an aside, thanks to all of the stretching of word meanings in these communications, perhaps Keith should have come up with a scheme to sell quotation marks.
However, I am glad he finally got what he deserves.
Man, they should have given him more time
Man, they should have given him more time for all the scams he pulled prior to the Covid sham. He has been doing this for a couple of decades. However, I am glad he finally got what he deserves.
he was lucky that he didn't get more.
Biotech CEO Sentenced for $28M COVID-19 Securities Fraud Scheme and Obstruction of Related Investigation
Outstanding! Given the circumstances, as presented by the Defense, I was hoping for a minimum of 5 years.
Outstanding! Given the circumstances, as presented by the Defense, I was hoping for a minimum of 5 years. Seems like Judge McFadden did a nice job of sorting through Berman's team's BS.
So! Stick a fork in it!
7 years, 7 years and 5 years (Concurrently) with 3 yrs supervision thereafter!
I hope someone snapped a pic of that fat scamming pig bitch crying as the judge read that sentence. That would be worth all of my losses.
7 years, 7 years and 5 years (Concurrently) with 3 yrs supervision thereafter!
So... that is like... "7 years but don't even think of appealing... there is no point!... we got you forwards backwards sideways and upwards... Compris?.... Now Say Thankyou Judge!!"
I take that as the judge showing leniency at the same time as not swallowing any of Berman's bullshit! Nor that of those that spoke up for him!
And as he is below the 10yr limit, he will probably score minimum security. I think the 3yrs supervision is important given the sociopathic behavior exhibited...
I can live with this outcome. They guy is old and sick and I am not cruel. They have locked him up good and hard, but they have not thrown away the key.
But then again , I didn't lose any money. (Nor did I make any... I am honest! . And I sleep at night!)
I just saw this toxic POS for what it was and posted warning notices for others to see (As did several others.
For which I got abuse and intimidation where 'thanks' would have been due.(As did several others... to whom I owe thanks for their warnings that were heeded!)
Ideally I'd like to see ALL of those bottom feeders that scored $ off the back of this DECN scam gone after by law enfrorcment. No one should be able to show a profit in a sad situation like this. No one!
Justice is not quick, but sometimes it gets there in the end!
Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Trevor N. McFadden: Sentencing held on 4/12/2024 as to KEITH BERMAN. Defendant sentenced to a term of Eighty-Four (84) Months of Incarceration as to each of Counts 1s and 2s, Sixty (60) Months of Incarceration as to Count 3s, all terms to run concurrently, followed by a term of Thirty-Six (36) Months of Supervised Release as to each of Counts 1s, 2s, 3s, all terms to run concurrently. Special Assessment of $100 imposed as to each of Counts 1s, 2s, 3s, for a total amount of $300. Restitution to be determined at a later date. Bond Status of Defendant: Committed/Commitment Issued. Defense Attorneys: Michelle M. Peterson, Kevin B. Collins, Nick Xenakis; Jose J. Ramos, Jonah T. Panikar, Brandon Howell, Jose F. Giron; US Attorneys: Christopher R. Fenton, Matthew Reilly, Katherine Reilly; Probation Officer: Hana Field; Court Reporter: Lisa Edwards. (hmc)[/url][tag]insert-text-here
7 years!
+3 supervised release!
Berman's sentencing hearing was supposed to start about two hours ago. Wish it was being streamed on YouTube or some other fine subscription service. Actually, I suppose it could be done by now. Waiting for the magic words, "Keith Berman remanded to the slammer!"
LOL! A perfect description of the Keith Berman Effect!
So erm... yeh! That's the thing about being a proven liar Keith....
The glowing remarks in the support letters made me want to blow lunch.
The glowing remarks in the support letters made me want to blow lunch.
The tragic part of the sentencing process is the "moral compass" you mentioned will never be part of the discussion. The glowing remarks in the support letters made me want to blow lunch. Similar to a number of our politicos, Berman was obviously the Pied Piper of his own highly irrational cult.
DECN WAS A SCAM!
And the scary thing is ..... it could happen again!
And probably will!
Time served Keith? I think NOT!!!!
I am extrapolating here, but I guess what was happening was this...
Akpha Capital Instalt were advancing "loans" to DECN with punitive conditions....
OID and interest with D4E swaps that would hurt retail shareholders.
Berman was using the loan principle to pay The Bio Co for supplies and development effort, to support his 'online entertainment' habit and fund his lifestyle,
Meanwhile he was using "Stories" - like the TOV litigation with the prospect of a $300m JnJ litigation pay out (... which was never happening, and didn't) to keep the share price buoyant and attract in 'marks' who would hoover up the shares that Alpha were dumping after conversion at inflated prices.
As the TBJ development effort was losing traction, the 'Shoe in' TOV/ Patent JnJ litigation was the hook for new retail investors.
When that went south initially, he doubled down with the appeal (get 'em cheap) and when that when the way of the dodo the Covid scam fell into his lap like manna from heaven!
All the time, vultures like Alpha were probably coining it in in healthy compounding interest, OID discounts on repayable loan notes, while pocketing discounted shares that were being dumped to the market as quickly as they were vested, thereby diluting any retail investors who actually bought into Berman;s BS to waste.
Rinse and repeat.
Remember that Berman/DECN never even developed Genultimate 'generic' test strip!! - he was just the distributor. The whole (generic) glucose strip business all fell into his lap when Shasta (who did develop the JnJ generic and filed the 510K) sh&t the bed with the FDA and Berman sued them for breach of contract,
To read DECN's press releases, -and Berman's pleading - you'd be forgiven for thinking that DECN - and Keith Berman himself - had invented the whole field of enzymatic glucose amperomtry!
When in fact they inherited some smbg knock-offs from elsewhere via litigation, and used that business to give a veneer of legitimacy to what amounted to a pink sheet pump and dump scam!
As long as DECN stayed afloat, Alpha could keep the finance shekels rolling in, and Berman could maintain the porn habit and lifestyle to which he had become accustomed!
The only losers were DECN retail investors -or "Penny stock traders" as Plutonium would pejoratively label them!
DECN WAS A SCAM!
And the scary thing is ..... it could happen again!
And probably will!
Time served Keith? I think NOT!!!!
Despite several flaky business models, which had no chance of any significant success, DECN stayed in business by touting a grand future, based on heavily promoted lawsuits. How many months did DECN hang on, while Berman was operating under the cover of the lawsuits against J&J? Ultimately, DECN (Berman) never disclosed any of the financial details related to the purported J&J "settlements"! My guess is the settlements were so rotten (or non-existent) Berman could never justify the time and money it took to chase verdicts that had no chance of ever happening. For many years DECN survived, not due to any business activity, but due to Berman's inclination to blow smoke, much like the GenViro/Covid fiasco! For me an important remaining question is, "How did Berman personally survive, if he never took personal compensation from DECN, PharmaTech, and/or any of the related companies? A deep dive by an SEC forensic accountant, with public disclosure, would have been special! Oh well.....
t seems the Berman gang concluded the SEC and/or DOJ would not invest the time and/or effort needed to verify the bogus claims. I bet there are just a few people, you and I included, who could help clarify!
Over the last 20 years, he sold
affordable and reliable diagnostic devices that helped diabetics monitor their blood glucose levels.
These devices worked using impedance spectroscopy, a sophisticated technology that can detect
the electrochemical signature of a blood sample
Over the last 20 years, he sold
generic test strips that helped diabetics monitor their blood glucose levels.
These devices worked without using any impedance spectroscopy, which is a technology that can detect
the impedance signature of a sample
It is interesting to note the number of "confused" statements found in Berman's Sentencing Memorandum. IMO, Berman's attorneys, coupled with Berman's imagination, provided their somewhat whacked out view the scam. It likely goes without saying, but their statements were not always truthful. It seems the Berman gang concluded the SEC and/or DOJ would not invest the time and/or effort needed to verify the bogus claims. I bet there are just a few people, you and I included, who could help clarify! And the ridiculous claims about St. Keith always endeavoring to serve mankind, seemed to overlook the many years of BS he spewed related to the diabetic test devices. Apparently Berman's family has abandoned him (remember the crap about needing relief from his bail travel restriction to allow visiting his now estranged son in San Diego?), so this very sickly, broken and broke old man should be instantly freed for time served, as of this coming Friday. The Government wants 10 years and Berman's team is lobbying for 1 year. Hmmm...how about a compromise? 5 years sounds logical to me.
I guess many of those that lost money investing in DECN will be wondering where the rest of the money (the part that was not 'expended' by Berman on 'entertainment' and 'lifestyle') has gone?
My guess this may have been the likely destination of a fair chunk of DECN cumulative investor losses over the years...
https://theactivistinc.medium.com/alpha-capital-anstalt-8c8dff4f1351
I am not suggesting that there I anything illegal about lending lending at punitive interest rates to distressed companies - which is what Alpha seem to do... vulture cpaitalism is just that!
But Alpha Capital Anstalt do seem to have some quite close links to LH Financial Services corp.
And Arie Rabinowitz of LH wrote this touching character reference to the judge for our dear keith....for the sentencing hearing.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.225086/gov.uscourts.dcd.225086.195.4.pdf
I guess its the least he could do, given how profitable all those loans (and interest repaid, and shares converted) that alpha advanced DECNs way might conceivably have turned out to be over the years?
I have no information beyond what is in DECN's published accounts to go on here (and who knows what can be made of those....)... and I am sure that some 'paper' losses will have gone the way of DECN lenders....
But it would also not surprise me at all if it turned out that these guys were 'net' substantially in the black when the music stopped.
If memory serves, the actual sentencing is set to happen in the next two or three weeks.
I was reminded Berman threatened to hire a private detective to identify me
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Keith Berman, CEO of DECN commented, "GenViro for the Coronavirus (covid19) began as an outgrowth of our GenUltimate TBG product line. What makes the testing for the Coronavirus possible, and the GenUltimate TBG special, is the company's Impedance measurement technology.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00940/full
While infectious disease testing and management has not previously been a part of our business model, we seized on this "do good" opportunity because our "Gen" line of products are and have been manufactured since 2016 in what is ground zero for Coronavirus (covid19) in Daegu, Korea. The company will have available samples of the blood of those previously infected available for testing as the company quickly converts its GenUltimate TBG methods and Precise meter, into a precise infectious disease testing device for the screening for Coronavirus."
Review Recent Financial Reports »
Visit PharmaTech Solutions, Inc. »
GenViro! 12-Month Forecast
Number of Months | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | SUM |
Year 1 | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 | Jul-20 | Aug-20 | Sep-20 | Oct-20 | Nov-20 | Dec-20 | Jan-21 | Feb-21 | Mar-21 | |
New Facility Customers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5000 | 5000 | 5000 | 5000 | 5000 | 5000 | 5000 | |
Retained Facilities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5000 | 10000 | 15000 | 20000 | 25000 | 30000 | |
Total Facility Customers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5000 | 10000 | 15000 | 20000 | 25000 | 30000 | 35000 | 35,000 |
Kits Consumed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000,000 | 30,000,000 | 45,000,000 | 60,000,000 | 75,000,000 | 90,000,000 | 105,000,000 | 420,000,000 |
We are not resting our laurels with our GenViro development. Later product entries will be test methods for Polio, Ebola (Marburg), Bird Flu, and SARS. The cost of our test kits will be sold in a price range of $4.95 to $7.95 per use. The Coronavirus kit will be sold for $6.95. Each kit sold will carry enough diagnostic for two tests, a primary test, and a test in reserve in case of human error in administrating the primary test. We plan to provide our diagnostics initially for use at hospitals, doctors' offices, and clinics. Once production ramps up, we will offer testing kits and meters to patients for testing at-home.
Mr. Berman concluded, "As you might imagine with a product announcement of such importance, we have been contacted by a number of potential partners for our kit, as well as companies who were not chosen last time to proceed past the proposition stage. The company's first choice for partnering will be a company that made "the cut" last time for our GenUltimate! TBG product. We will discuss partnering potential in a coming release. For the moment, the company is content calling on big box and long term care chains through its existing distributors and agents."
DECN also markets its PetSure! test strip for the diabetic testing of dogs and cats, a diagnostic specifically designed to run on the market leding Zoetis Alpha Trak meter system as well as the GenUltimate! 4Pets Test strip and Avantage! meter. The company has also just introduced its GenExpidient! Universal Translator for bio-sensor devices of different manufacture. A GenExpidient! device will be included in every Covid19 kit. Having such a device will lower the incidence of cleaning and disinfecting the GenViro! meter.
ABOUT DECISION DIAGNOSTICS CORP
Decision
Forward-Looking Statements:
This release contains the company's forward-looking statements which are based on management's current expectations and assumptions as of March 11 2020, regarding the company's business and performance, its prospects, current factors, the economy, and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances, and results.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Decision Diagnostics Corp.
Keith Berman (805) 446-2973
info@decisiondiagnostics.co
www.genultimate.com
www.genultimatetbg.com
www.petsureteststrips.com
www.pharmatechdirect.com
SOURCE: Decision Diagnostics Corp.
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