AEGiS-UPI: Phony HIV-test kit leads to prison term

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Phony HIV-test kit leads to prison term

United Press International - Wednesday, February 17, 1999

FRESNO, Calif., Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A California man who was convicted of marketing phony home kits to test for HIV disease has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Paul Seave says 51-year-old Larry Greene of Los Banos was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Fresno, where he was convicted of mail and wire fraud last November.

He was accused of using the Internet and several Central Valley pharmacies to sell home test kits that weren't approved by federal regulators -- as required by law -- and of providing phony test results as part of his scheme.

Judge Robert Coyle said he was sentencing Greene to the maximum term of 63 months because he led his victims to believe they would receive accurate test results when, in fact, they were never even tested. Coyle also said Greene had failed to show remorse for his crimes and was "a prime candidate" to commit other offenses.

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