lvrj.com
Saturday, August 21, 1999
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Auto dealer's stock frozen after it claims credit for AIDS cure
By John G. Edwards
Review-Journal
The ex-con who promised a treatment for AIDS is in a North Las Vegas jail, and the public company with whom he was associated was barred from further sale of stock Friday.
Secretary of State Dean Heller said his securities division took action against Uniprime Capital Acceptance because of claims about the company's alleged AIDS treatment. The stock was going through "wild volume and trading swings," according to the state official.
"The viability of the stock market is based on full and fair disclosure so that investors may make informed decisions," Heller said in a written statement.
"At this point, there is insufficient reliable information available to investors to allow them to make informed investment decisions relating to the (stock) of Uniprime," he added.
Uniprime is an automobile dealer, but it said its Plasma Plus was a discovery that could treat patients for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The company said the treatment has reversed the virus in five AIDS patients in Spain.
The securities division said the company's stock shot up to $7.94 a share from $1 based on announcements the company made. Uniprime stock trades on the Nasdaq Bulletin Board under the symbol UPCA.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on July 22 suspended trading in Uniprime for 10 days because of the volatile price swings and volume changes.
The division and postal inspectors used a search warrant and examined the contents of the Uniprime office in Las Vegas on Aug. 12. Postal Inspectors in New York didn't respond to a request for information about their investigation.
On the same day, Albert J. Flores, 45, who allegedly developed the AIDS treatment called Plasma Plus, was arrested. He is wanted for fraud by check and criminal contempt in Delta, Colo. He served time in a Colorado prison between 1983 and 1992 for participation in a criminal conspiracy.
The securities division Friday served Uniprime with an order eliminating any exemption the company might claim to requirements for selling stock in Nevada. That order prohibits anyone from selling Uniprime stock in Nevada until the stock is registered with the securities division.
The Nevada securities division complaint names Uniprime and Gary Tabb, president of the company.
The securities division in December obtained the company's agreement to comply with state securities laws. The division said Tabb had hired eight unlicensed brokers to sell Uniprime stock and hadn't registered securities for sale in the state.
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