Fraudulent HIV test kits
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Lawrence Clare Greene is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 25, 1999, in Fresno, California federal court following his Nov. 18 conviction on six counts of mail fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. Greene was found to have sold hundreds of HIV home test kits between 1994 and 1996 that had not been approved by FDA. In addition, Greene's method of testing "lacked any scientific or factual basis," and he provided bogus test results to several of the purchasers of his test, the Justice Department says. Greene faces a possible sentence of 115 years in prison and/or fines of over $5 mil. The investigation that led to the trial was conducted by FDA's Office of Criminal Investigation after makers of agency-approved HIV home test kits alerted FDA to Greene's use of the Internet to advertise his product