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Homeopathic Physician Is Charged With Promoting Pretend Covid-19 Vaccine Playing cards

Homeopathic Doctor Is Charged With Selling Fake Covid-19 Vaccine Cards

A homeopathic doctor in California is the first person to be charged by the federal government for selling fake Covid-19 vaccination cards, authorities said.

The doctor Juli A. Mazi from Napa, California, also sold Covid-19 “vaccine pellets” to patients, the federal prosecutor said. She was arrested on Wednesday and charged with wire fraud and false testimony regarding health matters, according to a criminal complaint. Ms. Mazi could face up to 20 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, authorities said.

Ms. Mazi sold pellets for $ 243, which she said contained a “very tiny amount” of the coronavirus that would trigger an immune response and provide “lifelong immunity to Covid-19,” the complaint said. To encourage customers to buy the pellets, prosecutors said Ms. Mazi falsely told them that the three Covid-19 vaccines approved for use in the US contained “toxic ingredients.”

It also offered homeopathic vaccinations for childhood diseases that it falsely claimed would meet vaccination requirements for California schools, the complaint said.

Ms. Mazi was not immediately available for comment. It wasn’t immediately clear whether she had a lawyer.

She describes herself on her website as a naturopathic doctor who received her PhD from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. She is trained in “traditional medical sciences” and “ancient and modern modalities” that nature says use for healing.

It also offers “classic homeopathy”, a medical system developed in Germany more than 200 years ago. It uses the theory that a substance can be cured by a substance that causes similar symptoms and the notion that drugs are more effective at minimal dosages, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. There is little evidence that homeopathy is an effective treatment for disease, the center said, citing a 2015 assessment by Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council. A number of concepts in homeopathy are inconsistent with basic scientific concepts agreed, said the center.

Authorities began investigating Ms. Mazi after someone filed a complaint in April that relatives bought her the Covid-19 vaccine tablets and had not received any of the approved Covid-19 vaccinations. In addition to the pellets, Ms. Mazi also sent the family’s Covid 19 vaccination cards, on which Moderna was listed, according to the prosecutor. She instructed them to mark the cards to falsely indicate that they received the vaccine on the day they ingested the pellets.

It is unclear how many people bought Covid-19 vaccine pellets from Ms. Mazi, but she received more than $ 200,000 through Square, a digital payment processing company, from January 2020 to May 2021, the complaint said. Most of the transactions did not specify the purpose of the payments, but 25 transactions worth more than $ 7,500 were recorded to indicate that the complaint was for Covid-19 treatments.

“This defendant allegedly betrayed and endangered the public by exploiting fears and spreading misinformation about FDA-approved vaccinations while selling counterfeit treatments that put people’s lives at risk,” said Lisa O. Monaco, assistant attorney general , in a statement. She added that using false vaccination cards allowed people to “bypass efforts to contain the spread of the disease”.

Steven J. Ryan, special envoy for the inspector general’s office for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the department will continue to investigate “scammers” who are misleading the public.

“This doctor has violated the important public trust in health professionals at a time when integrity is most needed,” he said in a statement.

In May, California authorities arrested the owner of a bar on charges of selling fake Covid-19 vaccination cards in his shop. There is also concern that people who share photos of their vaccination card with their name and date of birth could leave them at risk of identity theft or fraud.

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Business

Second Life for Delivery Containers: Promoting Bao Buns and Baked Items

Second Life for Shipping Containers: Selling Bao Buns and Baked Goods

Craig Baker posted photos of orange, turquoise, and pink shipping containers on Instagram to promote publicity for his food hall in downtown Indianapolis. They may seem strange to promote a grocery store and culinary incubator, but the steel boxes piqued the curiosity of the locals.

“They’re very similar to Legos, aren’t they?” Mr Baker, an entrepreneur and chef, said about the shipping containers at the AMP, a craft market and former supply garage where vendors sell PB&J sandwiches, Ethiopian cold brew coffee, and chocolate-covered strawberries covered with edible glitter.

“We’re building our own little village in a huge garage,” he said of the 40,000-square-foot space, which also includes a full-service restaurant, open-air bar, prep kitchen, and stage. “People want to see what you’ve built.”

Shipping containers have been heralded as a trend in home decor where they are used for modular homes, but they are also convincing commercial planners who have used them to liven up the bars, cafes and restaurants within developments anchored by food halls. In industrial areas or port cities, the containers give projects a sense of community, which is vital in a pandemic when retailers and restaurants close their doors.

However, the shipping containers also pose challenges for developers, including indoor customization and safety for guests and staff during a pandemic.

Most food halls rely on shipping containers to populate the stalls, but some also use them as canvas for art installations or as common areas. As the grocery halls proliferate, builders are adopting a pioneering design to stand out from the packaging and avoid a sterile cafeteria.

“Grocery halls are a dozen these days; Lots of them do exactly the same thing, ”said David Weitz, co-founder of Carpe Real Estate Partners, who this month opened Oasis, a food and entertainment center built on the site of a former marine engine repair company in Miami’s artistic Wynwood neighborhood. Six yellow, pink, and lavender shipping containers are used to sell bao rolls and gyros, while 16 more make up a 75-foot tall central tower bar painted in the same colors by Spanish artist Antonyo Marest.

The Oasis is one of a dozen grocery halls that use shipping containers and one of several to open this year along with AMP in Indianapolis and BLVD MRKT near Los Angeles. The United States has 242 food halls, a jump from 222 at the start of the pandemic, and cities have relied on their creative concepts and communal dining spaces to revitalize dormant neighborhoods. At least 190 more are in the works, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

The trend started in 2013 with Downtown Container Park, a project conceived by Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ CEO who passed away last November. The development, which was central to the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas worth $ 350 million, inspired other developers like Barney Santos, who after seven years of planning, will open BLVD MRKT in the predominantly Latin American neighborhood of Montebello this summer.

“I remember seeing the container park and feeling so inspired by the design,” said Santos of the development in Las Vegas. “I wanted to recreate that experience in my neighborhood to do something that no one would expect.”

Developers like Mr Santos said using shipping containers is more of a design choice than a cost-saving one. Used shipping containers cost $ 2,000 to $ 3,000, but builders can expect to pay five times that amount to add windows, doors, support structures, and kitchen and other equipment to pass local health inspections. This makes the cost comparable to installing normal food stands.

In business today

Updated

May 11, 2021 at 8:17 p.m. ET

For business owners, opening a grocery stand in a shipping container means they can add flourishing accents to personalize their space. In many indoor dining rooms, the stalls often look the same apart from a few differences in the signage. “The creativity that opens up is the strangest,” said Baker, the AMP’s project manager. “You give them a canvas and say, ‘Look, this is your place. What do you do with it? ‘”

That coincided with Joanna Wilson, the owner of an AMP dessert shop, Punkin’s Pies. Ms. Wilson picked colors that matched her brand, adding black and white floors and awnings to the pink shipping container, as well as a sparkling chandelier that shines like her glittering strawberries.

The semi-enclosed space also allows her to stow most of her kitchen equipment. “I try to make it look dainty and neat,” said Ms. Wilson. “I don’t like showing off my fridge, microwave, and kitchen area.”

The design choice makes sense in large port cities like Long Beach, California, where developer Howard CDM built SteelCraft, one of the earlier incarnations of a shipping container restaurant.

“There are shipping containers everywhere,” said Kimberly Gros, founder of SteelCraft, which operates two other Southern California locations at Garden Grove and Bellflower, said Kimberly Gros. “So we thought we were going to create a structure that is different and that is really connected to us.”

The reuse of materials appeals to many consumers from both an ecological and an aesthetic point of view. “I think if you take an item and undermine your original intent and create a whole new use for that item, it’s always interesting,” said Erik Rutter, co-founder of Carpe Real Estate Partners.

In interiors like the AMP, light tones enliven an otherwise gray room and at the same time preserve an industrial feel. “The color palette for the containers is really popping,” said Mr. Baker.

However, there are some limitations to the use of shipping containers in food-centric destinations. Some developers recommend sticking to outdoor applications to avoid complex retrofitting. In an outside environment, furnace ventilation can be done directly from the furnace hood through the roof, which is the most common setting. However, with a food hall at the base of a 50-story building, the process becomes more complicated because the ventilation has to be increased by 50 stories, Carpe’s Weitz said.

Most developers have sticked to outdoor use, but some food halls in the Midwest, such as AMP, Detroit Shipping Company, and Parlor Food Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, have placed them indoors. Design experts say the key is sticking to indoor bakeries and other light cooking applications rather than a store that requires a deep fryer, for example. Because of this, the AMP used shipping containers for companies with limited cooking requirements and conventional stands for those who needed more, said John Albrecht, director of the DKGR architectural firm that designed the AMP.

Dealing with the pandemic is also more of a challenge for indoor food halls, where diners often battle for coveted seats. Most have pushed take-out and delivery services and reconfigured their seating to allow social distancing, said Phil Colicchio, co-head of the Cushman & Wakefield food and beverage advisory group.

But perhaps the biggest fight for developing containers to be guided by ships is to stay more open. “The concern is that the more you walk this path, the more similar the rooms are,” said Trip Schneck, also co-head of the Cushman & Wakefield food and beverage group.

Expect shipping containers to continue to develop, especially as cities identify more industrial areas in need of revitalization. But it won’t be long before architects identify the next big thing, said Martin D. Howard, president of Howard CDM.

“Brilliant thinkers and creative minds will find other ways to make it interesting for people to come out and eat and drink and have a good time,” he said.

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Business

Why there is a growth in boomer rock stars promoting their songs

Why there's a boom in boomer rock stars selling their songs

Paul Simon performs on stage during the Nearness Of You benefit concert at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 20, 2015 in New York City.

Ilya S. Savenok | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

From Bob Dylan plugging his electric guitar on for the first time to Super Bowl commercials, there have always been moments in music history when die-hard fans accuse their idols of doing the unthinkable: selling out. But right now, “sellout” has a new connotation and it’s a booming market for both investors and superstar recording artists.

A wave of boomer rock icons are selling out their song catalogs. The steps of which Paul Simon took the last last week point to a clear truth about the intersection of art and money: music has always been a business where creative genius deserves to be richly rewarded. And it’s a business that is currently going through big changes from streaming and further disruption from the pandemic. The deals of Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Neil Young (in Young’s case 50% of the shares) and Stevie Nicks (80% of the rights to their songs) highlight important trends in the entertainment industry, capital markets and wealth management.

Music publishers like Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Primary Wave Music, as well as conglomerates like BMG, Sony, Warner Music Group, and Vivendis Universal Music Group, are buying up top-notch song catalogs in big deals fueled by record low interest rates, with the belief that they will generate more lucrative returns in the future by selling the rights to these songs through entertainment platforms.

Pick up cheap fuel music deals

Larry Mestel, CEO of Primary Wave Music, the company that just acquired a controlling stake in the catalog of two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame candidate Stevie Nicks, told CNBC the economic environment that the coronavirus pandemic created have had a positive impact on companies looking to acquire large assets. These low interest rates make it easy to borrow money, and high returns have created a perfect opportunity for buyers.

“They talk about a low interest rate environment and they can get 7% to 9% … and then increase that through marketing and get returns for teens. This is a very attractive place for people to invest money,” he said.

Music catalogs have also proven recession-proof, and the pandemic has only increased the number of deals done as the music industry is going through a massive disruption caused by the closure of live venues and touring.

Streaming music is increasing

The deals also come at a time when streaming music – despite all the controversy and skepticism of the musicians themselves about getting a raw deal – has proven to be an economic juggernaut, at least for the record companies. In 2020, Goldman Sachs predicted that global music sales will hit $ 142 billion by the end of the decade. This corresponds to an increase of 84% compared to the level in 2019 of 77 billion US dollars and a streaming of 1.2 billion users by 2030, four times the level in 2019. Companies like Sony, who have bought Simon’s catalog, will benefit most from this , and Universal, who purchased Dylan’s songs.

Worldwide revenue from streaming music hit an all-time high in the industry last year (83% according to a recent report) and is also favoring the superstars. Spotify said its mission is “to enable one million creative artists to make a living from their art”. A recent analysis by the New York Times found that Spotify’s data generated only about 13,000 payments of $ 50,000 or more over the past year.

It’s not just streaming, however. Once purchased, the rights to larger catalogs of acts can be used for dubbing placements that license music for a variety of media including movies, television shows, advertising, and video games.

“From a publisher’s point of view, having the rights to a particular catalog that we can make available for dubbing is extremely valuable,” said Rebecca Valice, copyright and licensing manager for PEN Music Group. “A catalog can pitch its own just because of its legendary success.”

Appreciation of rock icons

The more recognizable a catalog is, the more valuable it becomes for businesses to buy and use films or television. The best catalogs “pay off over time,” she says, as syncing helps regain the money spent, “and then some over time”.

“I think the icons and legends are worth more than the other artists,” said Mestel. Primary Wave owns the catalogs of stars like Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

Some famous boomer-era musicians have grappled with the situation the industry has put them in, like David Crosby, who said in a December tweet, “I’m selling mine too … I can’t work …” and streaming stole my record money … I have a family and a mortgage and I have to take care of them so it’s my only option … I’m sure the others feel the same way. “

In March, he sold his entire catalog to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, which had recently also acquired a controlling stake in the Beach Boys’ intellectual property, including part of the song catalog.

“Given our current inability to work live, this deal is a boon to me and my family and I believe these are the best people to do it with,” Crosby said in a statement setting out the deal was announced.

Boomer Generation Estate Planning

For the musicians themselves, there is a megatrend: the estate planning needs of America’s richest generation. Boomer musicians age just like their fans. “Artists are getting older now so they can use cash and make estate plans,” says Mestel.

The downside, of course, can be the loss of control over an artist’s most valuable asset: the creative genius who made his career.

“These aging rock stars may want to cash out to care for their estates … but you lose some control of your brand and heritage depending on the protections you’ve put in place as part of the business,” said John Ozszajca , Musician and founder of Music Marketing Manifesto, a company that teaches musicians how to sell and market their music.

Crosby and Azoff have been friends for a long time, a point Azoff addressed in the deal’s disclosure.

It seems like everyone who has a relationship in the music business knows someone is trying to raise money.

Larry Mestel

CEO of Primary Wave Records

Some fans aren’t particularly happy to hear hits like Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” or Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” selling cars and clothes – although Dylan has made several Super Bowl commercials for GM, IBM and his has songs featured in others alone – but choosing to sell catalogs can also help musicians avoid the posthumous litigation that they endured the estates of Tom Petty, Prince and Aretha Franklin.

BMG acquired the catalog interests of Nicks’ bandmate Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac earlier this year and in its announcement noted some stats that show that, as old as boomer acts, they can get a new lease on life from streaming viral hits . The Fleetwood Mac song ‘Dreams’ generated over 3.2 billion streams worldwide (in a period of eight weeks from September 24 to November 19, 2020) based on a video with a cranberry juice-loving fan and introduced a new generation who is used to TikTok to Fleetwood Mac. The band’s album “Rumors” peaked at number 6 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart 43 years after its release.

Dylan’s deal is the largest to date, valued at $ 300 million, although no sales price has been officially announced, and Universal said in only one publication that it was “the most significant music publishing deal of this century.”

Mestel believes the boom is not going to end.

“It seems like anyone who has a relationship in the music business knows that someone is trying to raise money. But that doesn’t mean they can identify assets to sell or even know what they’re doing.”

BMG and private equity giant KKR recently signed an agreement for a major acquisition of music rights. A senior executive told Rolling Stone, “We’re not chasing hits as of January 2021. We’re looking for a repertoire that has proven itself.” be a part of our life. “

KKR has made big music deals in the past and the trend of buying rights is not new, but the current boom is remarkable and fits in with the asset class appreciation that is happening in so many parts of the market as investors look for more avenues in their business Bring money to work. While the boomer deals are the biggest headlines, the latest acts are also seeing big paydays. Earlier this year, KKR bought a stake in OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder catalog for a supposedly large sum.

Companies like Primary Wave are partnering with artists like Nicks to try to keep them as part of the deal and make that deal even better for them in the future, according to Mestel, who says many didn’t understand they were signing a contract partnership, sell a piece of their catalog, and that piece may become more valuable in the future than the 100% they previously owned.

“If everything goes right, [artists] Get the most of what they want to sell it for and it’s usually a win-win scenario for both buyers and sellers, “Valice said.

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Business

February jobs report might trigger ‘tsunami of promoting’

Earnings season has been 'far better' than expected

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said he was encouraged by the trading activity he saw in technology and growth stocks as the market continued to grapple with fears that inflation would rise on Friday.

He cautioned, however, that investors should be prepared for how the market might react to the February work report due out late next week.

“If we get any strength here at all, please be prepared for another tsunami of sales when interest rates rise and stocks fall,” said the host of Mad Money, predicting this will be a major interest rate move on the bond is market would shoot. “Without ugly numbers, growth stocks are in trouble.”

Cramer commented after the market closed lower for the second straight week as the bond sale turned into stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 470 points on Friday, falling 1.5% to 30,932.37. The index also ended the week down 1.78%.

The S&P 500 fell 0.48% to 3,811.15, down 2.45% this week.

Though the day ended up 0.56%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite suffered the most this week after falling nearly 5% to 13,192,345. Friday’s surge was due to a rebound in big tech stocks.

“I don’t know if the growth names can withstand the pain, but today’s meeting gave us a glimmer of hope that they can still make some profit amid inflation fears,” said Cramer. “If you don’t like the pain … you might want to take advantage of moments like this on the Nasdaq, take profits and prepare for a Friday swoon and be ready to buy stocks like Costco.”

The US Treasury’s 10-year return, a key metric in consumer credit interest rates, fell nearly 1.4% on Friday, after surpassing 1.6% the previous day for the first time in about a year. The increase was due to the sale of bonds.

If rates fall, major industrials will lose momentum, as seen in the Dow’s fall, but cloud, semiconductor and cybersecurity stocks have been positive, Cramer said.

Bond investors who cut their holdings are betting that the Federal Reserve could change their minds and raise the policy rate from near zero when the economy recovers from the pandemic-triggered recession, he added.

“Inflation is a nightmare for people who own bonds. Who wants a piece of paper that pays 1.5% when inflation could break 2%? They lose every day,” Cramer said. “That’s why these people dumped bonds and their wholesale sales always shatter the stock market.”

Cramer announced his schedule for the coming week. The earnings per share forecasts are based on FactSet estimates:

Monday: Zoom video, lemonade

Zoom video

  • Q4 2021 Results publication: After Market; Conference call: 5 p.m.
  • Projected EPS: 81 cents
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 910 million

lemonade

  • Publication of results for the fourth quarter: after market entry; Conference call: 8 a.m.
  • Estimated losses per share: 64 cents
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 19.2 million

Tuesday: Destination, Nordstrom

target

  • Q4 results published: before the market; Conference call: 9 a.m.
  • Projected earnings per share: $ 2.54
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 27.4 billion

Nordstrom

  • Publication of results for the fourth quarter: after market entry; Conference call: 4:45 p.m.
  • Projected EPS: 14 cents
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 3.58 billion

Wednesday: Dollar Tree, Wendy’s, American Eagle Outfitters

Money tree

  • Q4 results published: before the market; Conference call: 9 a.m.
  • Projected earnings per share: $ 2.12
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 6.8 billion

Wendy’s

  • Q4 results published: before the market; Conference call: 8:30 a.m.
  • Projected EPS: 18 cents
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 477 million

American Eagle Outfitter

  • Fourth quarter results to be published: 4:15 pm; Conference call: 4:30 p.m.
  • Projected EPS: 36 cents
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 1.28 billion

Snowflake

  • Publication of results for the fourth quarter: after market entry; Conference call: 5 p.m.
  • Estimated losses per share: 16 cents
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 332 million

Thursday: Kroger, Costco

Kroger

  • Q4 results published: before the market; Conference call: 10 a.m.
  • Projected EPS: 69 cents
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 30.86 billion

Costco

  • Q2 2021 results to be published: 4:15 p.m.; Conference call: 5 p.m.
  • Projected earnings per share: $ 2.44
  • Estimated Revenue: $ 43.72 billion

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable foundation owns shares in Costco.

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Correction: This article has been updated to accurately reflect that projected revenue for Zoom Video is $ 910 million and projected revenue for Lemonade is $ 19.2 million. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect projection for both of them.

Categories
Health

3M helps authorities cease scammers from promoting pretend N95 masks

3M is helping authorities stop scammers from selling fake N95 masks

Industrial giant 3M has been working with law enforcement agencies around the clock to stop the sale of millions of counterfeit versions of its N95 mask.

“We have taken very strong steps to address counterfeiting or pricing issues. We have done so over the last year in this limited supply and very high demand for critical products like the N95,” said Mike Vale, 3M Security Officer heads and Industry Business Group, said CNBC.

N95 were the gold standard during the coronavirus pandemic for their ability to filter out at least 95% of airborne particles. The masks, which are seen as critical for protecting frontline workers from Covid-19, were in short supply. 3M is the largest N95 manufacturer.

Federal agencies announced Wednesday that fraudsters had distributed millions of counterfeit N95s to healthcare workers in at least five states. To date, 3M has reported 11,000 cases of counterfeit masks, leading to 29 civil lawsuits. In total, the company said it had confiscated 10 million counterfeit N95s. In mid-January, 3M helped its home state of Minnesota avoid purchasing nearly 500,000 counterfeit N95s from a Florida company. 3M sued and won an injunction.

The news of the federal investigation into the counterfeit N95 comes after several hospitals in Washington state found their shipment of the masks contained counterfeit masks.

“It’s a breathtaking feeling … just to think that there are people … making the counterfeit personal protective equipment we need so badly right now during this pandemic,” Cassie Sauer, president of the Washington State Hospital Association, told NBC News earlier this week.

3M helped officials in Washington confirm that the counterfeit masks were purchased from an unauthorized dealer unrelated to the company. 3M advises that hospitals and medical clinics must verify that they are purchasing respiratory protective equipment from a verified, authorized dealer. One way to do this is to check the company’s website or call the anti-fraud hotline.

Despite concerted efforts to eliminate and hold fraudsters accountable, false masks continue to emerge in the US and worldwide. “Counterfeit N95s pose a serious health risk and I think 3M has been reasonably aggressive to get them off the streets. However, it’s a get rid of each other game,” said Scott Davis, CEO of Melius Research, who followed the development of 3M for several years.

In terms of manufacturing, 3M manufactures more than 95 million respirators monthly at its US facilities in South Dakota and Nebraska. By scaling production and hiring hundreds of additional employees, including 300 at its South Dakota facility, the company quadrupled production last year.

However, a number of doctors who spoke to CNBC said they are still rationing masks.

“Obtaining enough N95 to keep health workers safe and secure, especially for the smaller hospitals and health facilities, is an unresolved challenge. When we have to negotiate counterfeit products, it is even more difficult and impossible to get adequate protection for our front line to ensure.” said Dr. Natasha Anushri Anandaraja, who founded Covid Courage, a New York nonprofit that helps healthcare workers gain access to PPE, including N95 and reusable masks.

Because of the limited supply, Anandaraja says more and more healthcare professionals are choosing reusable options. “By providing each health worker with a unique reusable mask, the constant battle to find legitimate disposable masks is eliminated, and the need for health workers to reuse masks that were intended for single use, and in hundreds of health systems rescued.” of thousands of dollars a year. “