Doctor Charged With Falsifying Fen-Phen Claims

Could Receive 260 Years in Prison, Fine of up to $3.25 Million
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     By Steve Rensberry
   rensberrypublishing.com
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   (RPC) - 12/1/10 - A 77-year-old doctor in Orlando, Florida, named Abdur Razzak Tai has been charged with 13 counts of mail and wire fraud for allegedly submitting fraudulent claims that individuals whom he had tested had suffered heart damage due to the diet drug known as Fen-Phen.
   If convicted, Tai could receive up to a maximum 260 years in prison, a fine of up to $3.25 million, plus three years of supervised release.
   According to the indictment, Tai was asked to review the echocardiograms of more than 1,100 patients in connection with claims they had filed with a trust established by the makers of the diet drug, American Home Products Corporation. The name was later changed to Wyeth.
   United States Attorney Zene David Memeger said in the announcement that they believed Tai had falsely certified that the patients had sustained heart damage, when in fact they had not. The charge also states that Tai had apparently entered into agreement with attorneys representing the alleged victims in the case, for the purpose of determining whether they qualified for compensation.
   Tai is charged with certifying patients that in some cases qualified for settlement benefits of several hundred thousands dollars.
   "For at least one lawyer, Dr. Tai was paid a set fee of $100 for each echocardiogram that he read. In addition, the indictment charges that Tai was to be compensated $1,500 for each claimant who qualified for benefits when that patient’s claim was paid," the announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice says.
   "The indictment charges that Dr. Tai wrote reports and signed certifications attesting that claimants had suffered heart damage on some occasions when he knew that the tests showed that they had not and, on other occasions, when he knew that he had not personally reviewed the test results to determine whether they had suffered heart damage."
   Fen-Phen was composed of a combination of two prescription diet drugs, Pondimin (fenfluramine) and Redux (dexfenfluramine). Wyeth removed both drugs from the market on September 15, 1977, following allegations of negative health consequences and pending lawsuits in both state and federal courts.
   "To resolve that litigation, Wyeth entered into a class action settlement, which established a Trust to pay benefits to persons injured by Fen-Phen with money contributed by Wyeth," the announcement says.
   Investigation into the case was undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Paul Shapiro is the prosecutor.

Tronox Agrees to $270M Settlement Over Liabilities

Bankruptcy Deal to Reimburse EPA for Cleanup Costs, Fund Other Efforts
   WASHINGTON - 11/28/10 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Justice Department and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced on Nov. 23 that Tronox Incorporated has agreed to resolve its environmental liabilities for $270 million and 88 percent of Tronox’s interest in a pending litigation. The bankruptcy settlement will reimburse EPA for past cleanup costs and fund future cleanups at contaminated sites across the country.
    Tronox and 14 of its affiliates filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Jan. 12, 2009 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, the company was potentially responsible for past costs incurred and future response costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) relating to sites throughout the country, as well as for penalties under CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act.
    Under the terms of the settlement, Tronox will pay $270 million in cash. The majority of the funding will be placed in five environmental response trusts for the cleanup of numerous sites, most of which have been contaminated with hazardous substances or waste.
   Non-cash assets, such as insurance and financial assurance assets worth at least $50 million, including property located in Henderson, Nev., will also be provided by Tronox to the environmental response trusts.
    Tronox, a Delaware corporation based in Oklahoma City, Okla., is a multi-national chemical company that makes and sells titanium dioxide and other specialty chemicals used in plastics, paper and inks. The company has customers located in more than 90 countries and operates in North America, Europe, and Australia.
   Tronox was created through a spin-off from the Kerr-McGee Corporation. Several months after the spin-off was completed, Anardarko Petroleum Corporation purchased Kerr-McGee for $18 billion.
    Tronox is currently involved in litigation against Anadarko and Kerr-McGee over allegations that those companies imposed years worth of legacy liabilities, including environmental obligations on Tronox, leaving Tronox insolvent and undercapitalized. The trial is expected to begin in late 2011 or early 2012. Eighty eight percent of any settlement awarded to Tronox, as a result of that litigation, will be used to fund additional cleanup efforts.
    Before being considered by the bankruptcy court for approval, the settlement will be lodged with the bankruptcy court for a period of 30 days to provide public notice and to afford members of the public the opportunity to comment on the settlement.
  Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency

Consumer Confidence Improves During November

   ARLINGTON, Va.- (BUSINESS WIRE) - 11/25/10 - Consumer confidence in the overall economy and in technology spending both improved in November to the highest points of the year, according to the latest figures released today by the Consumer Electronics Association.
   For the fourth straight month, the CEA Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE) improved in November. The ICE, which measures consumer expectations about the broader economy, rose six points to 173.1, reaching the highest level since October 2009. The ICE is also up nearly eight points from this time last year.
   “Consumers are beginning to feel less pessimistic about employment as their overall economic outlook improves,” CEA Chief Economist and Firector of Research Shawn DuBravac said. “While the labor market remains depressed, consumer sentiment is rising.”
    The CEA Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE) also improved to its highest point since December 2009. The ICTE, which measures consumer expectations about technology spending, increased nearly seven points this month to 86.1. The ICTE, however, remains down from the same time as last year.
    “Expectations to spend more on technology are up in November as consumers begin their holiday shopping,” DuBravac said. “Consumers remain cautious, however, as they continue to guard discretionary spending closely.”
    The CEA Indexes comprise the ICE and ICTE, both of which are updated on a monthly basis through consumer surveys. New data is released on the fourth Tuesday of each month. CEA has been tracking index data since January 2007. To find current and past indexes, charts, methodology and future release dates, log on to: CEACNETindexes.org.

Survey: Small Businesses Weigh In On Economy

   MCLEAN, Va. - (BUSINESS WIRE) -  11/21/10 - Capital One Small Business Banking recently released the results of its third quarter Small Business Barometer survey.
   The quarterly survey polls small businesses across the nation, gauging their current financial condition and business projections for the next six months.
   Third quarter survey results suggest that many U.S. small businesses are slightly less optimistic about the strength of the economy and their own financial position relative to last quarter. While many small businesses polled report that they are experiencing stable economic conditions and steady financial performance for their businesses, a decreased percentage believe economic conditions are improving and fewer say that their financial position has improved since last year.
   Accordingly, an increased percentage of small businesses surveyed plan to hold spending on business development and investments at current levels rather than increasing spending. On the hiring front, however, an increased number of small businesses report plans to add positions over the next six months.
   “Our survey results for the third quarter of this year suggest that financial performance is stable for many of the small businesses we surveyed, but some respondents have a more cautious outlook about their growth and expectations for the broader economy and their business,” said Robert M. Kottler, Executive Vice President of Small Business Banking at Capital One. “It is a positive sign, however, that most small businesses believe they have access to the credit and financing they need and many are making plans to increase their workforce and begin hiring again.”

Outlook and Financial Performance
   The survey results suggest that the overall economic outlook of U.S. small businesses has continued to weaken slightly. While financial performance remains stable for most small businesses, fewer respondents report improved finances compared to last quarter.

• In the first quarter, 39 percent of small business owners surveyed said that economic conditions for their business were improving, but this number dropped to 32 percent in the second quarter of this year and 27 percent in the third quarter. Nearly half (49 percent) of small businesses report stable conditions and one-quarter (24 percent) say that economic conditions are getting worse.
• Thirty percent of small business owners polled report that their firm’s financial position is better than it was one year ago, down seven percentage points since last quarter. On a year-over-year basis, however, this number is up six percentage points. About half (51 percent) of small businesses surveyed say that their firm’s financial position has held steady relative to one year ago. This number increased 8 percentage points since last quarter. Consistent with the last two quarters, only 18 percent of small businesses report that their financial position has worsened compared to one year ago.

Spending and Hiring 
    Most U.S. small businesses polled plan to continue holding off on additional business development and investment spending in the near-term, but the percentage of respondents reporting plans to hire increased slightly.

• The majority (66 percent) of small businesses say they plan to keep business development and investment spending at current levels for the next six months. Fewer small businesses plan to boost spending this quarter – only 16 percent – compared to 21 percent in the second quarter. Consistent with results from the last three quarters, 15 percent of respondents reported plans to decrease spending.
• Thirty percent of small businesses polled in the third quarter plan to add employees to the payroll over the next six months, consistent with results from the first quarter of 2010 but 4 percentage points higher than last quarter. Still, 63 percent of small businesses say that they will not hire additional employees during the same period.

Availability of Financing 
    The survey results suggest that most small businesses continue to have adequate access to credit and financing.

• Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of small businesses surveyed report that they are able to access the financing they need while 22 percent say they do not have adequate access to credit and financing.
• About one-quarter (23 percent) of small businesses in the survey say that securing the capital needed to continue operations will be one of the biggest challenges they face over the next six months.
• When asked about funding sources for financing their firm’s growth, half (52 percent) of respondents say they will seek financing from a bank or commercial lender, consistent with past results. A slightly increased number of respondents say they will rely on personal savings to finance growth (40 percent compared to 35 percent last quarter).

Gulf Oil Spill  
    Last quarter, the Small Business Barometer survey found that there were significant uncertainties about the potential longer-term consequences of the Gulf oil spill. Results from the third quarter suggest that the impact of the spill has not spread significantly and fewer respondents believe they will be affected long-term.

• To date, only 11 percent of small businesses surveyed say that their business has decreased since the spill, the same as last quarter. Six percent report increased business.
• Only 13 percent of small business owners or managers nationally believe the disaster will have a moderate to significant impact on their business, down from 25 percent in the second quarter. Ten percent say that it’s too early for them to predict whether or not their business will be affected, whereas 17 percent of respondents were unsure about the longer-term impact last quarter.

Survey Methodology      
The findings reported in this release are from a telephone survey conducted by the opinion research firm, Braun Research of Princeton NJ. Braun Research interviewed a nationally-representative sample of 1,901 for-profit small businesses in the U.S., weighted to Dunn and Bradstreet counts of all businesses nationwide by employee size and geography. Samples were also taken in New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Texas and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Small businesses are defined as those with less than $10 million in annual revenue. The interviews were conducted from September 14 - October 5, 2010. All interviews were conducted by telephone at their places of business. One respondent per business was contacted. The margin of error is ± 2.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Interviews were monitored at random. Sampling for this study was conducted using a national sample of businesses drawn from InfoUSA. All interviews were conducted using a computer assisted telephone interviewing system. Statistical weights were designed from the United States Department of Commerce to ensure proper inclusion of all SIC codes.