BIOSECURE GROUP CORP. (OTCBB: BSUR); AIRTECH INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC. (OTCBB: AIRG); NEWBRIDGE CAPITAL, INC. (Pink Sheets: NBRG); NUOASIS RESORTS, INC. (OTCBB: NUOA); and OASIS RESORTS INTERNATIONAL, INC. (Pink Sheets: OSRI)
Part I – THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOMELAND
March 11, 2002
Complicated corporate structures and convoluted financials statements are not the sole province of Enron, Global Crossings and the multi-billion dollar crowd. Companies occasionally operate through esoteric layers of subsidiaries and affiliates, even when there is considerably less money at stake. For investors, however, there is always something at risk – their hard-earned money.
When we wrote about Yes Clothing Company, Inc. on January 24, 2002, the Company had recently announced plans to change its name and its business plan. (See Yes Clothing, Inc. – A Fashionable Change). At the time, Yes had no operations, having closed its clothing business in July 1999 for financial reasons. Changes, however, were on the horizon. In the aftermath of September 11th and the anthrax scare, the Company said it would sell “biotechnical and personal protection products.” As a first step, Yes was acquiring a private company called BioSecure Corp. (OTCBB: BSUR) which had something in common with Yes – like Yes, BioSecure had “no significant identifiable assets and no revenues.”
To reflect its new direction, Yes changed its name to BioSecure and began to market two “kits” that were purportedly designed protect the public against anthrax and nuclear radiation. As we pointed out at the time, those kits, which were offered on an Internet site called “iamprepared.com,” had dubious value. The website, which contained inaccurate and misleading information about the products, appears to have disappeared.
BioSecure, however, has not.
Nothing Ventured
BioSecure has been back in the news with a series of press releases trumpeting plans to join the government’s fight against terrorism. The Company is now involved with another financially strapped company, Airtech International Group, Inc. (OTCBB: AIRG), and Airtech’s subsidiary, Airsopure, Inc. The relationship first surfaced on January 25, 2002, when BioSecure and Airsopure announced plans to form a joint venture that would market air cleaning technology and equipment developed by Airtech.
The plan soon became more ambitious. A February 16th press release announced that the joint venture, now called AirSecure LLC, had signed a letter of intent to acquire Tactical Fusion Group, Inc. (TFG), “a company formed to provide assistance to the nation’s security and intelligence agencies in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th.”
TFG would appear to be a perfect fit for BioSecure. As best we can determine, TFG has no money, no revenues, and no operations. It also has no history; TFG, according to the February 16th press release, was “formed to provide assistance to the nation’s security and intelligence agencies in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th.” Its principals purportedly consist of a “select group of U.S. defense and intelligence experts experienced in the fight against terrorism.” Who are these “experts?” The press release does not say, although it insists that the founders of TFG have training that “qualifies them to provide a variety of unique services to help the Anti-terrorist Task forces now being assembled by the Department (sic) of Homeland Security.” Is there a reason TFG declines to identify any of its founders or personnel?
We are reminded of that well-worn line, designed to convey the importance of security: “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
The people running TFG are a mystery, but at least one aspect of its mission seems clear. The government plans to spend incredible sums on homeland security, and TFG is angling for a piece of that pie. An anonymous spokesperson for TFG put it this way in that February 16th press release:
Domestic Security has been clearly defined as the highest priority by the Bush Administration and there is no doubt that it will soon become a major part of government and personal spending over the next few years. The fight against terrorism appears to be long-term and sustained. To facilitate the recommendations, President Bush has asked for a 10-fold increase to $38 billion dollars to finance the Fiscal Year 2003 Homeland Security Budget.
Then he (or she, since we do not know the gender of the anonymous spokesperson) got to the point:
Right now the government has a lot of money to spend in a short amount of time to upgrade homeland security, and there are only a few companies like ourselves to provide the products/services the government needs.
But does TFG really “provide the products/services the government needs?” There is nothing to indicate that TFG, in its brief existence, has developed any products or services at all. Is there any reason for investors to conclude that the federal government would entrust national security to this newly formed venture and its anonymous founders?
At the time of the February 16th press release, a TFG website offered an overview of its plans. TFG claimed that its “founders” were uniquely trained to help the Office of Homeland Security, and relieve an overburdened government. As the website put it, “Since all U.S. Government agencies already had a full plate without this additional critical tasking, they are, at best, ill-equipped to solve these issues without some major help.” TFG claimed that it could provide the manpower to relieve this burden, and had been “in close discussions with numerous U.S. Governmental Agencies” with “very encouraging results.” The names of those “Governmental Agencies,” like the identities of the TFG “founders,” were not disclosed. Indeed, while TFG maintained that various members of its team had run businesses, managed government contracts, or served in the military, it provided no further details that would suggest that this is a viable company that is likely to win government contracts.
In any event, that website now seems to have disappeared, only to be replaced by a new site that is “under construction” – a lot like the BioSecure business.
The absence of an Internet presence has not deterred the AirSecure team from issuing more press releases reflecting the effort to jump aboard the anti-terrorism bandwagon. On February 21st, AirSecure announced that it had “formed a task force consisting of executives of members of Tactical Fusion Group, Inc., BioSecure, Airtech and other Homeland Security-related service and product providers to discuss strategies for 2002 and draft a proposal to be submitted to the Office of Homeland Security.”
Who comprises this task force? None of the participants are identified. What are their qualifications? Investors were told only that TFG consists of a “select group of U.S. defense and intelligence experts experienced in the fight against terrorism.” That may make for a useful sound bite – or in this case print bite – but it certainly is not informative or meaningful.
Who are those “other Homeland Security-related service and product providers?” They, too, remain cloaked in secrecy. Consequently, investors are left to ponder the value of a new business, with no disclosed assets or revenues, no known operations, and a group of unnamed founders. Investors may justifiably wonder whether this is merely another effort to promote a stock based upon continuing public fears in the aftermath of September 11th.
Apparently it took the “task force” less than two weeks to develop its plan. On March 6th AirSecure announced that it had delivered its recommendations to the Office of Homeland Security. AirSecure offered this vague description of that proposal:
Terrorism-preparedness activities described in AirSecure's recommendations include key points concerning preparedness planning, detection and surveillance, emergency response, and communication systems. Training and research are integral components for achieving these recommendations. Success of the plan hinges on strengthening the relationships between medical and public health professionals and on building new partnerships with emergency management, the military, and law enforcement professionals.
Are any of these ideas novel, or is AirSecure uniquely situated to perform these services? In the absence of specific details, it is impossible to determine whether AirSecure has anything new to offer. And, as the Company concedes, “AirSecure cannot guarantee the success of this strategic plan.”
The March 6th press release does not say how AirSecure plans to accomplish any of its objectives, where it will get financing for its business or who will be running the operations. Will the BioSecure team be in control? Do they have any expertise in the area? As we pointed out in our January 24, 2002 article, the anti-terrorism products offered by BioSecure appear to have little practical value, and could actually give terror victims a false sense of security. BioSecure’s “Nuclear Terror Protection” kit included “iodine” tablets that purportedly could be used to protect against the effects of nuclear radiation. In reality, scientists recommend the use of “iodide,” not “iodine.” (See Yes Clothing – A Fashionable Change). Is the Office of Homeland Security likely to entrust the BioSecure team, and those other faceless, nameless task force members, with national security?
In the end, what do each of these entities – BioSecure, Airsopure, AirSecure, and TFG have to offer – other than promotional press releases and potential stock swaps? What is the nature of the relationship between BioSecure and Airsopure? Who is behind these businesses, and any related enterprises?
In this series of articles we will explore these questions, and take an in-depth look at the people, and companies, behind the promotions and promises.
Watch for Part II coming tomorrow.
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