CardioVascular BioTherapeutics (fka CVBT)

[walhall]

The End of Venturis Therapeutics

With Venturis Therapeutics (formerly Cardiovascular Biotherapeutics or CVBT) losing a 7-figure binding arbitration judgment to its former CEO Dan Montano (and one of these days we'll learn the final amount once the judge issues his final ruling), this insolvent, illiquid, and thoroughly broken zombie company has finally reached the end of the road. I believe the doors of this zombie company get shut once and for all fairly soon.

While a 7-figure binding judgment would not necessarily be fatal for a viable company, I believe it is something Venturis (the textbook definition of a zombie company) will not survive for one fundamental reason: Because Venturis is not viable, has not been viable for over a decade, and can not raise the money needed to go forward. Why? Because no one is going to put money into a company where the controlling shareholder/CEO, Calvin Wallen III, is an accused crook who has been accused by the U.S. government of stealing $14 million from his previous company, and who has had credible repeated allegations of falsified books and records at companies he has been associated with. Indeed, I find it telling that Mr. Wallen has taken a scorched earth approach to delay, delay, delay his trial (with an assist from coronavirus). It's been 3 years now that Mr. Wallen has successfully delayed his day of reckoning...er, excuse me, his opportuniy to clear his (ahem) "good name." Let me ask you one question: If you genuinely thought you were innocent and would be exonerated at a trial of (falsely) stealing so much money, wouldn't you want that trial to be held yesterday? I would! I personally believe that the fact Mr. Wallen has done everything possible to delay his trial all but screams to the world, "I'm guilty!"

So let's talk about that case, because it's been a while. Mr. Wallen is accused by the U.S. government of stealing a total of $14 million from his former company, Tauren Exploration Inc., prior to its bankruptcy. This is speculation on my part, but having read a number of the filings in this case, I suspect that when Mr. Wallen knew the company was doomed due to the large drop in gas prices, he started stealing from the company, figuring that in bankruptcy no one would notice the missing sums (and I know I'm not the only one who believes that some of these monies were diverted to CVBT/Venturis). Tauren did file bankruptcy, but someone did notice that something was wrong--a major creditor who notified the bankruptcy trustee. As a result, the bankruptcy trustee hired forensic accountants to investigate, and lo and behold, they discovered a series of cash diversions totaling $14 million to external accounts controlled by Mr. Wallen for which they could find no justifiable business reasons. Further, they also found attempts by Mr. Wallen to cover up those diversions. In one of the filings by the U.S. government, they detail the dates, amounts, and unrelated bank accounts that the money was siphoned off to. That means that unbeknownst to Mr. Wallen, the government subpoenad bank records and accounting records of other entities to understand these transactions. It's all pretty damning, I must say, and it's hard to see how Mr. Wallen can have any sort of defense in the face of a third party independent expert (i.e. the forensic accountants) testifying what they found. Hence, why Mr. Wallen has taken a scorched earth approach to delay, delay, delay. His day of reckoning is coming, and having read the government filings, I don't see any way that he gets exonerated. Further, I spoke with a bankruptcy attorney in TX who is not connected to this case, to get his take on it. After a quick review, he said to me, "The government does not lose cases like this." Time will tell.

So let me ask a question: If you're an investor and otherwise like the Venturis story (except maybe the part where the company has not run a single clinical trial since 2007), and were inclined to invest, would you put a dime into a company where the dude in control is accused by the U.S. government of being a crook?

And thus, that is why Venturis has reached the end of the road. No one will put a dime into this broken zombie company. Mr. Wallen does not have the money, stolen or otherwise, to make Venturis viable, and no one will acquire it because the existing data is no longer usable for regulatory purposes. Venturis CEO Robert Schleizer stated at the shareholders meeting in 2018 that the company received a qualified opinion letter from its auditors, with a going concern qualification. It's over.

If you'd like to read about the various court cases where the U.S. government is pursuing Calvin Wallen and related entities, here are the links:
Tauren Exploration, Inc. Liquidating Trust vs. Calvin Wallen III:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/24021776/Tauren_Exploration,_Inc_Liquidating_Trust_v_Wallen,_III

Tauren Exploration, Inc. Liquidating Trust vs. Pandale Holdings, Inc. et. al:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/24021775/Tauren_Exploration,_Inc_Liquidating_Trust_v_Pandale_Holdings,_Inc_et_al

Tauren Exploration, Inc. Liquidating Trust v. Fossil Operating, Inc. et al:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/24021777/Tauren_Exploration,_Inc_Liquidating_Trust_v_Fossil_Operating_Inc_et_al

And here's a lengthier discussion of why Humpty Dumpty (a.k.a. Venturis Therapeutics) is beyond repair:
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=155716827

And here's what a Venturis insider revealed about what's really going on at this zombie company:
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=155941891