In just the past few months, Usana Health Sciences (NASDAQ: USNA) has had more scandals surrounding biographical errors than any company or organization that I can think of. Take a look:
- Denis Waitley, a director at the company, decided not to stand for re-election after investigator Barry Minkow uncovered that the PhD listed in his biography came from a long-defunct diploma mill. He also does not possess a Master's degree, although one was reported in numerous SEC filings.
- Dr. Timothy Wood, Vice President of Research and Development at the company, claimed to have a PhD in biology, but it's actually in forestry, which seems less relevant at a company that makes nutritional supplements.
- Myron Wentz, the company's founder and Chairman, renounced his U.S. citizenship to "move" to the tax haven of Lichtenstein.
- And now, according to the Wall Street Journal, (subscription required), Dr. Ladd McNamara has left the company's medical advisory board after it was discovered that he no longer has a medical license. A Usana spokesman said that McNamara surrendered his license in Georgia in 2004 in response to allegations that he improperly prescribed medication to a family member. He also agreed to a lifetime ban from practicing medicine in Ohio.
But the best part of the Wall Street Journal piece is by far the last part: "Usana spokesman Joseph Poulos described Usana as the victim of short-sellers who have bet against its stock price, including Mr. Minkow."
Right. So Usana Health Sciences had at least three cases of material misrepresentations of the credentials of high level employees, but somehow it's a "victim" of short-sellers. Can't Usana just take responsibility for its lies and move on? Apparently not. It appears to be borrowing a line from Milli Vanilli's song "Blame it on the Rain," which gives advice in the event that you are caught cheating on your girlfriend:
Gotta blame it on something
Blame it on the rain that was falling, falling
Blame it on the stars that did shine at night
Whatever you do don't put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah yeah
So Usana is taking Milli Vanilli's advice about diversion. Is it any coincidence that Milli Vanilli was later exposed as one of the greatest frauds in music history?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-07-2007 @ 5:37AM
Justin Tyme said...
You ought to be ashamed that you even voiced your unfounded, twisted, selective, and prejudicial statements that reflect ignorance (either deliberate and malicious or unintention and malicious) of the complete facts surrounding your allegations "voiced" as matter-of-fact when they aren't. Shame on you! You represent in spades what is among the worst of human traits!
Justin
6-13-2007 @ 12:13AM
JimB said...
Justin - are you buying USNA ?
6-13-2007 @ 6:15AM
Lisa said...
Near as I can tell, Usana is a multilevel marketing company. It may be legal, but it's not the kind of company I choose to patronize or represent. I'm not willing to discard my preferences (I could have used a stronger word, but that's opening a whole 'nother can of worms) in order to make a larger profit on my investments. I'm also not saying that an investment in Usana would be likely (or unlikely) to be profitable. I also wouldn't invest in Amway (does it even still exist?) or any of a number of similar companies, and I wouldn't become a representative for that type of company, either.