US biotech executive sentenced to 7 years in jail for COVID test fraud
Keith Berman, 70, of Westlake Village, California, pleaded guilty last December to securities fraud totaling around $28 million. The Justice Department said that from February through December 2020, Berman falsely claimed his Decision Diagnostics company had developed a 15-second test to detect COVID-19 in a finger prick sample of blood when, in reality, no such test existed. "Berman defrauded investors to profit from the pandemic," Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, said in a statement.