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Brian Javaade Meshkin (born 1975 or 1976) Surfbuzz folded the following year after spending between $3 million and $4 million in seed money. Salugen, Inc. Salugen, Inc., incorporated in April 2005, sold dietary supplements and direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests — a relatively new business model that was lightly regulated at that time. In June 2008, the California Department of Public Health issued cease-and-desist notices to 13 genetics companies, including Salugen, for improper marketing of DTC tests. Salugen was ordered not to test Californians until it was licensed as a clinical laboratory in California, and to perform only validated tests ordered by a licensed physician. Soon afterwards Salugen was acquired by Sherbrooke Equity A.G. Despite raising further capital on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Salugen was wound up the following year. Proove Biosciences Meshkin founded Proove Biosciences in December 2009. Proove Bioscience's business model involved practices that appeared to generate potential conflicts of interest. Proove Biosciences was running research programs out of hospital clinics. In fact, more than 90% of patients tested were enrolled in clinical studies administered by Proove. Former employees said that Meshkin, who has no background in science, asserted control over the company's research program: "It was marketing. It wasn’t science." The complaint alleges that Proove submitted false claims to Medicare in violation of the False Claims Act and federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The suit asserts that Proove billed for medically unnecessary genetic tests and engaged in a sophisticated kickback scheme with physicians. On August 7, 2017, Proove Biosciences was placed into court-ordered receivership. On August 31, 2017, it was reported that Meshkin was no longer CEO at Proove Biosciences. On August 4, 2020, the former Vice President of Market Development for Proove, Donald Joseph Matthews, pled guilty in federal court to conspiring to pay physicians kickbacks to order genetic tests for Medicare beneficiaries in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. In June 2021 a federal grand jury indicted Meshkin and eight Proove executives, charging them with running a kickback scheme, paying doctors to refer patients. The charges were dropped in December 2022 after allegations from Meshkin's attorney that a government "taint team" had provided privileged documents to prosecutors.
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