Indian-American COVID19 Researchers Face Fraud Charges Over HydroxyChloroquine (HCQ) Study
Top two international medical journals, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and The Lancet, were recently forced to retract two papers on COVID-19 due to obvious fraud committed by the coauthor Sapan Desai, Chicago-based Indian-American surgeon and businessman, whose analytics company Surgisphere claimed to have stored clinical data from thousands of patients of hundreds of hospitals as part of HydroxyChloroquine (HCQ) study. Dr. Amit Patel and Dr. Madeep Mehra, both of whom are American-Indians, claimed to be the lead authors of the papers published in The Lancet and NEJM. The drug was promoted by US President Trump as a way to treat COVID patients. The study claimed to have looked at data from 671 hospitals across six continents related to 96,000 patients. The authors claimed that 81,000 hospitalized patients were not given HCQ but 15,000 were given HCQ which has been widely used to treat malaria patients.
It all turned out to be fake. But it forced World Health Organization (WHO) to suspend its clinical trial of the drug's effectiveness in treating coronavirus patients, a serious setback to finding a treatment for the highly contagious disease that has put a big chunk of the world in lockdown.
On June 4, 2020, The Lancet issued the following retraction statement:
“Today, three of the authors of the paper, “Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis”, have retracted their study. They were unable to complete an independent audit of the data underpinning their analysis. As a result, they have concluded that they “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.” The Lancet takes issues of scientific integrity extremely seriously, and there are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data that were allegedly included in this study.”
Dr. Amit Patel and Dr. Madeep Mehra, both of who are American-Indians claimed to be the lead authors of the papers published in The Lancet and NEJM. Dr. Patel has had his faculty position terminated by the University of Utah, where he was the chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Dr. Mehra has offered an unconditional apology and confessed that he lent his name as lead investigator to several research papers without looking at the data supplied by Desai.
Apparently, Mehra and Patel designed a study and then asked Desai to provide them some results out of thin air to support their predetermined conclusions. Medical Journals are often keen to publish scientific studies on COVID-19 that help them increase their earnings via subscriptions and advertising. The authors would probably have gotten away with the fraud if the study had been something not as high profile as the search for COVID19 treatment.
It all turned out to be fake. But it forced World Health Organization (WHO) to suspend its clinical trial of the drug's effectiveness in treating coronavirus patients, a serious setback to finding a treatment for the highly contagious disease that has put a big chunk of the world in lockdown.
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| India-American Doctors Amit Patel, Mandeep Mehra, Sapan Desai |
On June 4, 2020, The Lancet issued the following retraction statement:
“Today, three of the authors of the paper, “Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis”, have retracted their study. They were unable to complete an independent audit of the data underpinning their analysis. As a result, they have concluded that they “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.” The Lancet takes issues of scientific integrity extremely seriously, and there are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data that were allegedly included in this study.”
Dr. Amit Patel and Dr. Madeep Mehra, both of who are American-Indians claimed to be the lead authors of the papers published in The Lancet and NEJM. Dr. Patel has had his faculty position terminated by the University of Utah, where he was the chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Dr. Mehra has offered an unconditional apology and confessed that he lent his name as lead investigator to several research papers without looking at the data supplied by Desai.
Apparently, Mehra and Patel designed a study and then asked Desai to provide them some results out of thin air to support their predetermined conclusions. Medical Journals are often keen to publish scientific studies on COVID-19 that help them increase their earnings via subscriptions and advertising. The authors would probably have gotten away with the fraud if the study had been something not as high profile as the search for COVID19 treatment.
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https://www.ndtv.com/indians-abroad/indian-origin-man-neil-chandran-arrested-in-us-for-alleged-45-million-investment-fraud-3117176
Neil Chandran, of Las Vegas in Nevada, was arrested on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the Department of Justice said.
According to the indictment, Mr Chandran owned a group of technology companies that he used in a scheme to defraud investors by falsely promising extremely high returns on the premise that one or more of his companies, operated under the banner of "ViRSE," was about to be acquired by a consortium of wealthy buyers.
Mr Chandran's companies -- which included Free Vi Lab, Studio Vi Inc., ViDelivery Inc, ViMarket Inc, and Skalex USA Inc, among others -- developed virtual-world technologies, including their own cryptocurrency, for use in the companies' own metaverse.
The indictment alleges that Mr Chandran caused other individuals to make various materially false and misleading representations to investors, including that investors in his companies would soon receive extremely high returns when one or more of those companies was purchased by a group of wealthy buyers.
In fact, according to the indictment, there was no such buyer group that was about to purchase the companies for the claimed returns; a substantial portion of the funds was misappropriated for other business ventures and the personal benefit of Mr Chandran and others, including the purchase of luxury cars and real estate; and there were no prominent billionaires involved in purchasing Mr Chandran's companies.
https://www.deccanherald.com/national/americans-duped-into-losing-10-billion-by-illegal-indian-call-centres-in-2022-report-1175156.html @deccanherald
After several incidents were reported in 2022, the FBI has now deputed a permanent representative at the US embassy in New Delhi. The representative will work closely with the CBI, Interpol and the Delhi Police to bust these gangs that have put India under the threat to be termed as the hub of such illegal call centres.
Americans lost a total of $10.2 billion in 2022 so far, which is a 47 per cent increase from 2021’s $6.9 billion, to such fraud calls. FBI’s South Asia head Suhel Daud told the publication that "romance-related" frauds reported were worth Rs 8,000 crore in 2021 and Rs 8,000 crore in the last 11 months of 2022. Losses due to "tech support" crimes were as much as $3 billion in the last two years – $347 million in 2021 and $781 million in 2022 so far.
“It may not be a national security concern yet, but the reputation (of a country) is involved, and we don’t want India to suffer on that count,” Daud told the publication. He also noted that the FBI’s website has registered 8.5 lakh complaints in 2021 and over 7.8 lakh complaints so far in 2022 in regard to internet crimes. Those complaints included cyber crime related to investment ($3 billion), business email compromise ($2.4 billion), personal data breach ($1.2 billion), romance($1 billion) and tech support ($781 million).
https://www.moneylife.in/article/prateek-gupta-the-big-indian-defaulter-behind-a-500-million-international-commodities-fraud/70001.html
We take great pride in the fact that many successful Indians are occupying corner offices at the world’s largest and most powerful corporate houses and every action of theirs makes news in India. The flip side is that people of Indian origin will also hit the headlines for zip and enterprise of another kind—for gigantic fraud, running mega scams and even market manipulation. These stories are buried in tiny reports and rarely make it to front pages or television debates.
For instance, how many of us remember that the ‘Flash Crash’ of 6 May 2010, which wiped out a trillion dollars in five minutes, was the handiwork of a young, reclusive Indian called Navinder Singh Sarao, trading alone out of west London. Those who want to know the fascinating details should read Flash Crash by Liam Vaughan who describes the global manhunt to catch Sarao, characterised as a ‘trading savant’.
Another Indian who is making news abroad, but doesn’t figure on our media channels, is Prateek Gupta of Ushdev International Ltd, despite his history of cheating several banks in India. He has recently acquired the dubious cred of having cheated Trafigura, a global commodities trading giant, of a whopping US$577mn (million) in a nickel deal. This is when his admitted dues to Indian banks were over Rs3,500 crore and total liabilities around Rs4,205 crore. He was being investigated by the central bureau of investigation (CBI).
So what is Prateek Gupta’s story? Let’s start with why he is in the news today.
Trafigura Scammed of US$500 Million
On 9th February, the global commodity trading giant Trafigura group Pte issued a press release which said it had “discovered a systematic fraud committed by a group of companies” to the tune of US$577mn by companies controlled by Prateek Gupta, in connection with a deal to purchase about 25,000 tonnes of ‘containerised nickel’. Trafigura had entered into a ‘transit finance’ deal, or what would be called a ready-forward deal, where it would buy nickel from companies connected to Mr Gupta and sell them back to the same companies in future at a higher price that covers interest cost.
Sometime after October 2022, Trafigura inspected eight shipping containers and found that they did not contain nickel or even nickel alloy. As it expanded its inspection to a few hundred containers (out of over 1,100 covered by the deal), it discovered more of the same. Instead of nickel or nickel alloy, whose prices have been shooting up since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the containers contained carbon steel, whose value is a fraction that of nickel.
The Trafigura group, which operates across commodity businesses, employs 12,000 people across 156 countries, rushed to court in February and obtained a ‘worldwide freezing order’ of US$625mn against Mr Gupta and his companies, led by TMT Metals Holdings Ltd based in London. The London high court order restrained individuals and businesses from dealing with Mr Gupta’s assets anywhere in the world. It is open to challenge by the Gupta group and the hearings will commence soon. Reports in the international media suggest that Trafigura has had a legitimate business relationship with Mr Gupta’s companies since 2015.
Prior to this, Mr Gupta has inflicted even greater losses on Indian public sector banks (PSBs). It would seem that he was building his international commodity businesses through money diverted from the Indian company. He bought TMT Metals AG, a trading firm, in 2016. He also has companies in Singapore, Malaysia and Switzerland.
Sanchari Ghosh
https://www.livemint.com/news/india/how-swami-nithyananda-s-fake-country-kailasa-fooled-30-us-cities-with-sister-city-scam-explained-11679042510469.html
Controversial godman Swami Nithyananda and his fictional country "Kailasa" is in the news again and this time, for duping the city of Newark in New Jersey, United States. Apparently, Newark. admitted to falling victim to a scam that led them to become a "Sister City" with a fake Hindu nation.
The incident occurred when Mayor Ras Baraka invited representatives of Kailasa to Newark City Hall for a "cultural trade agreement," only to discover later that Kailasa was not a real country.
Despite Newark's apparent commitment to partnering with diverse cultures to enrich each other with connectivity, support, and mutual respect, the city reportedly did not realize Kailasa's inauthenticity until after an official ceremony had already taken place.
Footage shows city officials signing documents and taking photographs during the ceremony to become a "Sister City" with "Kailasa."
Following the incident, the Newark City Council reportedly rescinded the agreement just days after signing the "Sister City" agreement papers. One city council member called the oversight "unacceptable" and said it "cannot happen any longer."
Newark is not the only city to sign the ‘Sister City’ deal…
The funny thing is as many as Newark is not the only city to sign this deal with Kailasa. As per the website of the United States of Kailasa, it has as many as 30 cities in the United States. And a Fox report said, most mayors have accepted of signing such deals.
How Kailasa got these cities to sign the deal?
The report cited, that the cities claimed that the ‘proclamation is not an endorsement but a response to a request’. Most of them further confirmed that ‘they did not very the information in the request’.
That means, Kailasa got them to sign the deal simply by requesting them to do so.
What is Kailasa?
'Kailasa' is a self-proclaimed country founded by controversial godman Nithyananda, who purchased an island off the coast of Ecuador and named it after a sacred site for Hindus. 'Kailasa' claims to be a movement founded by members of the Hindu Adi Shaivite minority community from Canada, the United States, and other countries. It offers a safe haven to all the world's practicing, aspiring, or persecuted Hindus.
However, 'Kailasa' is not recognized as a country by the United Nations or the international community, and it is considered a micronation. Despite this, the 'Kailasa' movement maintains a strong social media presence and claims to have various departments, including treasury, commerce, sovereign, housing, and human services, as well as a flag, a constitution, an economic system, a passport, and an emblem.
Probe found Ranga Dias manipulated data, including in a paper claiming the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor
https://www.wsj.com/science/university-rochester-ranga-dias-superconductor-misconduct-aa2f9fd4?st=GoDu5D&reflink=article_email_share
The president of the University of Rochester has recommended firing Ranga Dias, a star faculty member who claimed to have discovered a room-temperature superconductor, for research misconduct.
Rochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf made her recommendation in an August letter addressed to the chair and vice chair of the Rochester Board of Trustees. The Wall Street Journal has seen the letter.
“Please accept this as my recommendation that the Board of Trustees act to abrogate the contract of Dr. Ranga Dias as a faculty member of the University to include immediate termination of his employment,” she wrote.
As of Monday, Dias still holds appointments at the physics and mechanical-engineering departments, but no longer teaches classes or supervises students. A spokesperson for the Rochester, N.Y., university declined to comment on when, or if, the board would act on Mangelsdorf’s recommendation.
Dias’s bold scientific claims about the discovery of new superconductors—rare materials that pass electrical current without loss of energy—drew worldwide media coverage amid persistent allegations from his peers that he had manipulated data and plagiarized material.
A university investigation into his work completed in February found that he manipulated data in four studies, including in a blockbuster paper published in March 2023 in the journal Nature—and retracted a year ago—that claimed the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor. The investigation also found that Dias plagiarized material in a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation for nearly $795,000.
At least five papers in which he is a senior author have been retracted.
During the university’s monthslong investigation and subsequent internal review, Dias sued the university claiming the procedures were biased. A judge dismissed the case in April, stating it was premature for the court to weigh in while university actions, including a decision on Dias’s employment, were pending.
Dias didn’t respond to requests for comment. He has previously denied manipulating or misrepresenting data.
Dias joined the faculty at the University of Rochester in 2017, after a stint as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. His new lab began publishing a string of papers on novel materials with unusual properties, including a potentially transformative superconductor.
Superconductors have the rare ability to conduct electrical current without losing energy. Materials known to do this require extremely low temperatures, extremely high pressures, or both—conditions that are expensive to maintain and scale. A material that behaves like a superconductor at ambient conditions could prompt a revolution in electronics and engineering.
by Sam Nunberg
https://www.newsweek.com/vivek-ramaswamy-fraud-always-has-been-opinion-1823853
Op Ed Writer Sam Nunberg is a lawyer and political consultant based in West Palm Beach, Fla. He previously served as an advisor to former President Donald Trump.
Let's start with the basics. Ramaswamy has funded his campaign through the sale of over $32 million in Roivant stock options in February of this year. This could lead one to believe that Roivant, based in Bermuda, is thriving and that Ramaswamy is a great entrepreneur. Except the company reported staggering losses of $1.2 billion in its financial report of March 2023. This isn't a one-time slump: In March 2022, when Ramaswamy was still Roivant's chairman and a major shareholder, the company reported an annual loss of $924.1 million.
Ramaswamy's defenders may argue that Roivant performed better during his tenure as CEO in 2021, but alas, the numbers tell a different story. The reality is that Roivant's finances were abysmal under Ramaswamy's watch. During his tenure in 2019, the company's net operating loss exceeded $530 million. By 2020, the losses had doubled to over $1 billion, accompanied by a 65 percent decline in revenue.
These numbers raise a puzzling question: How can a company consistently bleeding billions trade at over $10 a share?
The answer might lie in Ramaswamy's implementation of Roivant's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative, called Roivant Social Ventures, during his CEO tenure. Launched in 2020 while Ramaswamy was still CEO, this initiative aimed to foster "DEI opportunities for future leaders in biopharma and biotech."
While Ramaswamy vocally opposes ESG principles, Roivant's major institutional investors—including Morgan Stanley, Viking Global, and BlackRock, the very firms he criticizes by name—are among its largest stakeholders, owning over 500 million shares. Ramaswamy himself holds more than 80 million shares, making him an essential partner of these major ESG funds.
In a deeply ironic twist, Ramaswamy's anti-"woke" campaign is being bankrolled by the profits reaped from the very policies he denounces.
Yet this irony is not the worst of it. In 2015, there was another sordid affair involving Ramaswamy, over Axovant Sciences Alzheimer's drug. In June 2015, Ramaswamy appeared on CNBC to praise the Axovant IPO, which soared to over $30 a share based on expectations surrounding its Alzheimer's drug, Intepirdine. The drug was touted as a "breakthrough," yet upon closer examination, this development fell apart.
Axovant had acquired the drug for $5 million in December 2014, six months before the IPO, after the majority of Phase 2 trials had "failed to meet their primary endpoints" in 2010. Ramaswamy devised a solution: His mother, Dr. Geetha Ramaswamy, conducted a new Phase 2 trial in 2015 involving "684 subjects." This trial conveniently claimed to demonstrate sufficient improvement to "support Phase 3" trials.
The aftermath was a triumphant $350 million IPO in 2015, followed by a drastic fall. By September 2017, the stock had plummeted 75 percent after Ramaswamy and his mother announced the Phase 3 trial's failure. Subsequent trials continued to disappoint, culminating in a 99 percent loss in value and a name change for the company.
While investors suffered significant losses, Ramaswamy profited from a higher media profile, IPO payouts, and the sale of remaining Axovant assets in 2020.
Ramaswamy's latest scam appears to be his run for president. The 38-year-old presidential candidate appears to have no serious interest in leading the nation. In fact, according to people who know Ramaswamy, the goal of his campaign seems to be to block Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' path to the nomination by running as a MAGA-adjacent candidate. Ramaswamy's deception has gone as far as hiring a writer to delete from his Wikipedia page his past ties to the Soros family and the creator of the mRNA vaccine.
https://thelogicalindian.com/apple-fires-185-telugu-speaking-employees-over-alleged-csr-scam/
Apple has terminated approximately 185 employees, predominantly Telugu-speaking, due to their alleged involvement in a fraudulent grants scheme linked to the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. The employees allegedly collaborated with certain Telugu associations in the US to misuse Apple’s Grant Programme, resulting in funds being funneled back to them after donations were matched by Apple. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is investigating the matter further, raising concerns about the integrity of non-profit organizations involved.
Fraudulent Scheme Uncovered
In a significant corporate scandal, Apple has dismissed 185 employees from its Bay Area office for their alleged participation in a fraudulent grants programme. These employees, primarily Telugu-speaking individuals, are accused of colluding with specific Telugu associations based in the United States to exploit Apple’s CSR initiatives. The scheme involved soliciting donations from employees under the guise of supporting non-profit organizations, which Apple would then match dollar-for-dollar as part of its commitment to community engagement.
Investigations revealed that these donations were manipulated, allowing funds to be redirected back to the employees after receiving matching contributions from Apple. An internal review by Apple’s Finance department led to the discovery of these irregularities, prompting a report to the IRS, which is now conducting an investigation into the matter.
Background on the Incident
This incident raises serious questions about the integrity of certain Telugu associations operating in the US and their role in this fraudulent activity. Reports indicate that these organizations regularly solicited donations from Telugu-speaking individuals within Apple’s workforce, exploiting the company’s CSR matching grants as part of a larger scheme. The fraudulent activities came to light when Apple’s Finance department identified discrepancies in donation records and alerted authorities. Following this revelation, Apple conducted an extensive internal audit that confirmed the misuse of its Grant Programme.
The implicated employees were reportedly given an ultimatum: resign due to alleged misconduct or face termination. This situation not only impacts the dismissed employees but also raises concerns about the accountability and transparency of non-profit organizations involved in the community.
Community Impact and Reactions
The fallout from this scandal extends beyond the terminated employees; it has sparked outrage and concern within both the tech community and among Telugu associations across the United States. Many are questioning how such a significant breach of trust could occur within a reputable company like Apple and what measures are in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.