Vital Living's North Carolina Headquarters Searched by FBI
By David Evans
Matthews, North Carolina, Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Vital Living Products Inc. had its North Carolina headquarters searched by FBI agents, indicating the developer of an anthrax test kit may be the target of a criminal probe.
About 10 agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Charlotte office conducted the search beginning at about 12:20 p.m. local time, said agent Joanne Morley. She said the search at Vital Living's office in Matthews, 25 miles south of Charlotte, was expected to last about five hours.
The Securities and Exchange Commission already is investigating Vital Living. Its shares soared 40-fold last month as the company issued press releases announcing the anthrax kit, and a distribution agreement with Ace Hardware Corp., based in Oak Brook, Illinois. Ace, the No. 2 U.S. hardware store cooperative, said it didn't agree to carry the kits.
Vital Living shares, which rose from 5 cents on Oct. 1 to $2.03 on Oct. 23, gained 8 cents to 44 cents today.
The search warrant was signed by a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, and filed under seal, Morley said. Vital Living President Donald Podrebarac declined to comment on the search warrant. Yesterday, he said he wasn't aware of an SEC investigation.
Sani-Pure Food Laboratories, an independent company hired by Vital Living to study the anthrax test, said it received a subpoena from the SEC Tuesday for a copy of its report on the test.
SEC Probe
The SEC issues subpoenas only after approving a formal order of investigation. An SEC spokesman declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, citing agency policy.
Vital Living rose 61 percent Tuesday after announcing its anthrax test was ``certified'' by the laboratory. Ronald Schnitzer, director of Sani-Pure, said the lab didn't certify the test and didn't approve Vital Living's announcement.
Meijer Inc., a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based supermarket chain, also denied it plans to carry the anthrax test, as was claimed in a Vital Living press release on Oct. 25.
Two weeks ago, Vital Living, which has lost money every year since it was founded in 1990, said its net worth was negative $2.4 million on Sept. 30. It repeated a statement saying it had ``substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.'' |
