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Biotech / Medical : Anthrax test from VLPI -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: peter michaelson who wrote (124)	11/30/2001 8:54:14 AM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 142

I hope they intercourse Ray Dirks because he keeps on getting awaywith his crimes as if he was wearing Teflon.

To: peter michaelson who wrote (124)	11/30/2001 12:20:22 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 142

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.''

To: peter michaelson who wrote (124)	11/30/2001 12:22:06 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 142

I wonder if they had the phones Tapped? The FBI does that sort of thing.

To: peter michaelson who wrote (124)	12/16/2001 6:42:28 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 142

YET ANOTHER RAY DIRKS SCAM/FRAUD BITE THE DUST->Vital Living Faces Fraud Charges .c The Associated Press MATTHEWS, N.C. (AP) - A Matthews company that had planned to manufacture home anthrax-testing kits is under investigation by various law enforcement agencies and may go out of business. The Securities and Exchange Commission told Vital Living that it plans to file a civil enforcement action against the company for allegedly violating securities laws. The company also said it is being investigated for insider trading. Fighting the charges could mean the already financially troubled company would have to shut down, the company said. Vital Living received national attention soon after the first mail-borne cases of anthrax were detected by announcing it would sell the first over-the-counter anthrax test kit by Thanksgiving. The company said it had received more than $150,000 worth of orders by early November, but stopped marketing the product on Dec. 1, a day after the FBI raided its offices and a related New Jersey lab. The agencies listed as investigating Vital Living include: the SEC, the National Association of Securities Dealers, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Attorney's office for the southern district of New York and the N.C. Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Division. Vital Living is negotiating with the FTC for a possible out-of-court settlement. AP-NY-12-16-01 1139EST