Keith Berman, the former CEO of Decision Diagnostics Corporation, was sentenced to seven years in prison for securities fraud after falsely claiming to have invented a rapid blood test for Covid-19. From February to December 2020, Berman engaged in a scheme to defraud investors by promoting the test, known as GenViro, which led to a significant increase in the company’s stock price. In reality, Berman knew that the test could not actually detect Covid-19, as he privately confided in someone.
Prosecutors accused Berman of capitalizing on people’s pandemic-related fears to revive his company’s fortunes, resulting in about $28 million in investor losses. Berman pleaded guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud, and obstruction of an official proceeding. Despite his lawyer’s plea for a lighter sentence due to Berman’s efforts to develop a rapid Covid-19 test, prosecutors pushed for a harsher punishment, citing his deceitful actions that misled investors and obstructed federal investigations. As a result of his crimes, Berman’s reputation is tarnished, his business destroyed, and his relationships strained, leaving him with little chance of returning to his previous life at 70 years old with a felony conviction.