.Three Former Medi-Hut Executives Barred By SEC in Settlement
2003-08-19 16:44 (New York)
Three Former Medi-Hut Executives Barred By SEC in Settlement
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Three former Medi-Hut Co. executives
were barred by the Securities and Exchange Commission from
serving as officers or directors of a public company as part of a
civil fraud settlement with the drug wholesaler.
The agreement accused former Medi-Hut Chief Executive Joseph
Sanpietro, former Chief Financial Officer Laurence Simon, and
former Vice President of Sales Lawrence Marasco of inflating
revenue and earnings. The SEC said the executives concealed that
Marasco owned and controlled Larval Corp., one of Medi-Hut's
largest customers. The executives also tried to falsify company
records to obstruct the commission's investigation, the agency
said.
Sanpietro was ordered by the SEC to pay $170,000 in profits
from a January 2002 sale of 100,000 shares of Medi-Hut stock. He
sold the shares for $5 each before the stock fell to $3.29 per
share on Feb. 4, when the New York Post published a story
questioning the company's ties to Larval, the SEC said.
Attorneys for Medi-Hut and the former executives were not
immediately available for comment.
Medi-Hut said yesterday it plans to pay $400,000 in cash and
issue 861,990 shares to settle investor class-action lawsuits in
connection with the accusations.
Medi-Hut shares rose 1 cent to 16 cents in over-the-counter
trading in New York. The stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Stock
Market in March.
--Amy Strahan Butler in the Washington newsroom with reporting by
Ambre Brown Morley, (202) 624-1835 or astrahan@Bloomberg.net.
Editor: Mirabella.
Story illustration: To graph the company's stock performance
against relevant indexes, see {MHUT US <Equity> COMP D <GO>}. For
more functions related to the company's stock performance and
earnings, see {MHUT US <Equity> CNP 07809920101 <GO>}. |
