On Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused former Stimwave Technologies CEO Laura Tyler Perryman of swindling investors out of $41 million by offering false and deceptive statements related to one of the firm's devices, purporting that it had approval from the Food and Drug Administration. These charges come following Perryman's indictment by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in March.
Laura Tyler Perryman, the co-founder and former CEO of medical device startup Stimwave Technologies, has been charged with allegedly defrauding investors of $41 million by making false and misleading statements about one of its devices. The SEC complaint alleges that Perryman misrepresented a Stimwave peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) device that was allegedly able to treat chronic nerve pain by using electrical signals. In reality, the device is made up of a transmitter, an electrode array and a receiver - the latter of which was supposedly "fake and nothing more than a piece of plastic." According to the SEC, Perryman also told investors that the PNS device was "the only effective device of its kind on the market" and had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Monique C. Winkler, director of the SEC's San Francisco regional office, noted that "We allege that Perryman touted a supposedly innovative medical pain-relief device while concealing that a primary component of the device was fake and that patients were unwittingly undergoing unnecessary surgeries to implant the non-functional component into their bodies." The complaint charges Perryman with violating the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws, and the SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, a civil penalty, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest and an officer and director bar.
The SDNY brought criminal securities fraud charges against Perryman on Tuesday, in addition to the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud and health care fraud charges Perryman faced in March. Stimwave went on to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2022, and its assets were later acquired by Curonix, a PNS company, in late 2020. Representatives for Curonix did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.
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