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Saturday, March 08, 2003 Page: 1C
5 business courses set
Small Business Development Center: The Wilkes University center is
offering the following courses. For information or to register, call 408-4340,
extension 4340.
New Product Development: 9 a.m.-noon, Tuesday. Cost: $45.
Motivating Your Employees and Team Building: 6-9 p.m. March 25. Cost: $45.
Securing State Government Contracts and Certification: 9 a.m.-noon April
9. No charge.
Introduction to QuickBooks: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. May 13. Cost: $95.
Advanced Payroll Using QuickBooks: 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. May 20. Cost: $55.
100 targeted for schemes
FBI agents cracked down Friday on get-rich-quick schemes that defrauded
hundreds nationally out of $500 million.
Agents from 41 FBI offices executed search and arrest warrants targeting
100 people allegedly involved in fake or nonexistent investments sometimes
called “prime bank” schemes.
People are lured by promises of access to a secret market that offers
extraordinarily high returns with little or no risk.
In reality, the con artists usually keep the money for themselves.
A major part of the investigation, known as “Sweet Tea Masquerade,”
resulted in arrest warrants against 51 people in 22 states and the District of
Columbia. FBI undercover agents posed as investors in a scheme traced to South
Carolina.
Some people being sought by the FBI live in Canada, Mexico, Britain,
Germany, Greece and South Africa.
The FBI said these investment schemes often have similar characteristics:
Promises of “secret,” risk-free trading.
Guaranteed or high rates of return.
Operators not licensed by the government. Their arrangements are not
offered by legitimate brokerage firms.
Confidentiality requirements.
Drug maker, feds settle
Pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. on Friday settled federal
charges it blocked the sale of cheaper generic versions of three drugs.
The Federal Trade Commission said the company tried to limit competition
for two of its anticancer drugs – Taxol and Platinol – and the antianxiety
drug BuSpar.
The company’s actions protected nearly $2 billion in annual sales, the FTC
said.
The settlement comes before Bristol’s expected restatement Monday of 3
years of sales and earnings.
The FTC did not impose any fine.
The agency decided financial penalties and consumer payments would be
negotiated by states that have sued Bristol, said Susan Creighton, deputy
director of the FTC’s competition bureau.
On Friday, Bristol formalized a $535 million federal settlement with 29
states, including Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico to end lawsuits involving its
efforts to block generic BuSpar.
Taxol is used to treat ovarian, breast and lung cancers and cancer related
to AIDS. Platinol and Platinol-AQ are versions of the same cancer drug. BuSpar
is used to manage anxiety disorders.
Office suppliers targeted
Environmental groups are pressuring office supply superstores OfficeMax and
Office Depot to sell more recycled paper.
The campaign will include protests around the country this month and is
based on a similar effort against Staples that ended last year when the
company adopted new recycling guidelines and environmental policies.
The Paper Campaign is a joint effort by San-Francisco-based ForestEthics
and the Dogwood Alliance, a consortium of 72 groups working to protect forests
in the southern United States.
Environmental groups are planning small rallies at OfficeMax and Office
Depot stores around the country over the next few weeks, followed by a
national day of rallies on March 26.
Spokesmen for both companies say they are developing environmental
policies.