$500 million dollar lawsuit filed against USA Today and Gannett

Vivera Pharmaceuticals today filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against Gannett, its publication USA Today, and their reporters and executives for damages in excess of $500 million for defamation, trade libel and intentional and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.

On June 2, 2020USA Today reporters David HeathKevin McCoy and Donovan Slack, published an article entitled "You could see the train wreck coming': Inexperienced, dubious companies, among many aiming to cash in on coronavirus antibody tests."

According to the lawsuit, the article contained numerous false and misleading statements about Vivera and its COVID-19 antibody tests. The article is a disparaging hit piece against CEO Paul Edalat. The reporters personally attacked Edalat with false claims about his character, business dealings and ongoing litigation.

USA Today chose to publish false information about the accuracy rates of Vivera's COVID-19 antibody tests, misleading readers by taking quotes out of context in order to make it appear as though Vivera was hiding information from the public. Vivera has always been transparent about its two COVID-19 antibody test kits and published the validation results of those tests on its website.

On June 3, 2020, one day after the article was published, Vivera, through its legal counsel, delivered a letter to USA Today specifying the false and misleading statements and demanded that USA Today issue a retraction.

Seven days later on June 10, 2020USA Today's parent company, Gannett Media refused to retract the article or remove or correct any false and misleading statements about Vivera. The paper did, however, change the title of the article to "Inexperienced, dubious companies on FDA list to sell coronavirus antibody tests."

"It is unfortunate that Gannett, and USA Today, chose to knowingly print false, misleading, and disparaging comments about myself and Vivera," said Paul Edalat, CEO of Vivera Pharmaceuticals. "We provided USA Today an opportunity to retract this article, which they refused. This article has nothing to do with the quality of Vivera's antibody tests and was a coordinated attack on me in an effort to disparage Vivera."

Vivera has filed suit in the United States District Court, Central District of California.

About Vivera Pharmaceuticals
Vivera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an innovative, science-driven pharmaceutical company focused on novel therapies for a variety of indications.  In addition to its pharmaceutical and medical device products, the company has global exclusivity to license the patented and patent-pending TABMELT® sublingual drug-delivery system for the pharmaceutical use of therapeutic compounds. The company is vertically integrated with patented technology, manufacturing capabilities, and distribution for its products.

CONTACT:
Adam Sechrist for Vivera Pharmaceuticals
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vivera

Kimberly Wilkinson Takes The Helm as New Owner of Lapels Dry Cleaning of Hanover

Hanover, MA, Kingston, MA, Marshfield, MA and Cohasset, MA, Jul 03, 2020 -- Lapels Dry Cleaning, an innovative, environmentally friendly dry cleaning company headquartered in Hanover, Massachusetts, recently announced Kimberly Wilkinson as the new owner of Lapels Dry Cleaning of Hanover. Wilkinson took over the satellite store, located at 2117 Washington Street in Hanover, MA, on June 15.

Lapels Dry Cleaning of Hanover represents the fourth location owned by Wilkinson. She’s also the owner of Lapels Dry Cleaning of Marshfield, a dry cleaning store and plant at 776 Plain Street, Marshfield, Lapels Dry Cleaning of Cohasset, a satellite store at 827 Chief Justice Cushing Highway, Cohasset, and Lapels Dry Cleaning of Kingston, another satellite store located at 150 Summer Street in Kingston.

“For the past five years, it’s been a privilege to bring the world’s only 100 percent environmentally non-toxic cleaning process to the people of the lower South Shore. With our new location further north, we can bring it to even more people in towns like Hanover, Rockland and Norwell coupled with our free delivery service,” said Wilkinson, a Marshfield resident. “The true beauty of how Lapels cleans clothes is not only that it’s better for the environment but there’s no odor as you find with other dry cleaning processes. Clothes just look and feel better,”

Adds Wilkinson, “Given the backdrop of what’s going on in the country and world, getting your clothes clean takes on added importance. Having clothes professionally cleaned in a manner that doesn’t hurt the environment provides an added level of comfort.”

The acquisition of Lapels of Hanover represents the latest in a number of impressive accomplishments for Wilkinson. She first purchased Lapels Dry Cleaning of Kingston and Lapels Dry Cleaning of Marshfield in 2015. In 2017, Wilkinson was named Lapels Franchise Owner of the Year. Under her leadership, Lapels Dry Cleaning of Cohasset has earned WickedLocal’s Readers Choice for Best Dry Cleaner on several occasions.

“Kimberly has been an incredible addition to our organization from day one. She’s a great example of how people who are teachable and have a positive attitude and work ethic can come into this business and succeed,” said Kevin Dubois, CEO of Lapels Dry Cleaning. “We’re thankful to have her as the new owner of Lapels Dry Cleaning of Hanover and look forward to the things she will accomplish.”

Lapels has pioneered its eco-friendly dry-cleaning experience over the past two decades. Lapels has a partnership agreement with GreenEarth®, the dry cleaning industry’s only non-toxic cleaning alternative for its newer locations. Using these kinds of solutions and the latest technology in equipment, Lapels is one of the few dry cleaners able to boast that there is no hazardous waste in their process. Their environmentally-friendly cleaning process has no odor and is gentler on clothes, thus lengthening the life of clothes.

Lapels Dry Cleaning also sets itself apart with its customer service. Lapels customers are greeted to a warm and inviting reception area, with friendly customer service representatives, and alteration services.

In terms of its services, Lapels offers its customers Automatic Rewards earning them credit towards free dry cleaning for every dollar they spend, Loyalty Programs, a VIP Program which eliminates the need to wait in line, the use of a 24 Hour Drop Off Service and FREE Home Delivery to all its customers. Lapels Dry Cleaning offer free pickup and drop-off service. During the COVID 19 pandemic Lapels also offers a “car hop” service where customers can drop off and pick up their clothing without ever leaving their cars.

During the pandemic, hours at Lapels Dry Cleaning of Hanover will be Monday through Friday, 8am to 5 pm and Saturday 9 am to 4 pm. For complete information on Lapels Dry Cleaning, please visit https://mylapels.com/locations/lapels-dry-cleaning-hanover-ma/.

Lapels Dry Cleaning – Environmentally Friendly Cleaners
Each Lapels Dry Cleaning store offers a full slate of services, including same-day dry cleaning; shirt service; tailoring; wedding gown preservation; suede and leather processing; box storage and fur storage. Lapels Dry Cleaning has stores in Arizona (Buckeye, Gilbert, Chandler, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Yuma), California (Gilroy, Hollister), Colorado (Littleton), Connecticut (Cromwell), Florida (Fleming Island, Orange Park, Tampa); Illinois (Wilmette); Massachusetts (Abington, Allston, Bedford, Boston, Boston Seaport, South Boston, Brighton, Burlington, Cohasset, Concord, Dedham, Dover, Easton, Hanover, Hingham, Kingston, North Andover, Malden, Marshfield, Martha’s Vineyard, Newtonville, Norton, Somerville, Stoughton, Waltham, Wakefield, Wellesley, Westford, Westwood, W Roxbury and Wilmington), Mississippi (New Albany, Olive Branch, Tupelo, Oxford, Pontotoc), New Jersey (Brick, Somerville), New York (Latham), North Carolina (Charlotte), Oklahoma (Edmond, Oklahoma City), Pennsylvania (Bloomsburg), South Carolina (Fort Mill, Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island), Tennessee (Arlington, Brentwood, Franklin, Germantown, Nashville), Texas (Brownsville, Katy, Little Elm, Prosper, Richmond, Spring, Sugar Land). Additional locations are coming soon to Carolina Forest, SC and Brooklyn NY.

Lapels Dry Cleaning has received a number of accolades in the franchise world. That includes being ranked again on the 2020 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list for the country’s top Franchise Systems. Entrepreneur's “Franchise 500” is the best and most comprehensive rating of franchises in the world and is based on objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise operation. Lapels Dry Cleaning has also been named to Franchise Times Top 200+.

Lapels has also achieved acclaim in the dry cleaning industry. Lapels Dry Cleaning CEO Kevin Dubois is the co-author of Entrepreneurial Insanity in the Dry Cleaning Business, sold on Amazon.com.

Lapels Dry Cleaning corporate offices are located at 962 Washington Street, Hanover, MA 02339. 

To learn more about franchise opportunities with Lapels Dry Cleaning, call toll free (866) 695-2735 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Additional information and up-to-date company news can also be found on the company’s Web site, www.lapelsdrycleaning.com.

Media Contact:
Steven V. Dubin, PR Works
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781-582-1061

Tony Drexel Smith Joins US Capital Global as Managing Director of New Advisory Division

Leading private financial group for the lower middle market appoints Managing Director of new Advisory Division with offices in Las Vegas.


San Francisco, California, USA, July 3, 2020 - US Capital Global is pleased to announce that Tony Drexel Smith has joined the firm as Managing Director of Due Diligence and Underwriting. Headquartered in San Francisco, US Capital Global provides sophisticated debt, equity, and investment products to lower middle market companies and investors, using the latest FinTech and RegTech innovation.

Mr. Smith comes to the firm with 25 years of business development experience. Since 1995, he has occupied top leadership roles in several business incubator companies, serving clients across 22 industries. Throughout his career, Mr. Smith has focused on serving small to medium enterprise business owners, start-up entrepreneurs, and the business capital community by developing and executing professional-grade business finance documentation, venture underwriting services, and valuations.

“We are exceptionally pleased to welcome Tony to the firm,” said Jeffrey Sweeney, Chairman and CEO at US Capital Global. “Tony is a highly qualified underwriter whose expertise spans a wide variety of industries. He brings a wealth of compatible insight to the table, and he is well prepared to support US Capital Global in its continued expansion by managing the firm’s new Advisory Division in Las Vegas.”

“It’s an honor to be joining US Capital Global and supporting the group’s continued expansion,” said Mr. Smith. “US Capital Global is at a new inflection point in its growth, as it moves into new verticals and provides an ever broader set of strategic, innovative solutions in the financial marketplace. I am very pleased to be supporting the group as Managing Director, working from the group’s new offices in Las Vegas.”

About US Capital Global

Established in 1998, US Capital Global leverages the latest FinTech and RegTech innovation to provide sophisticated debt, equity, and investment products to lower middle market companies and investors. The US Capital Global group manages direct investment funds and provides wealth management and capital raise services through its affiliates, including its investment advisers US Capital Global Investment Management LLC, US Capital Global Wealth Management LLC, and its FINRA-registered broker-dealer, US Capital Global Securities LLC. The group collaborates closely with its peers in professional banking and investment advisory. www.uscapglobal.com

To learn more about US Capital Global, email Jeffrey Sweeney, Chairman and CEO, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +1 415-889-1010.


Press Contact:
Vanessa Guajardo
555 Montgomery Street, Suite 1501
San Francisco CA 94111

Equitronix Introduces New Digital Presence Solutions for Small Businesses

Equitronix is excited about releasing a new end-to-end digital presence solution designed especially for small-to-medium sized businesses. It endeavours to bring best in breed digital presence design thats modern, responsive and fluidic, enhancing it with core business features like payment gateways, integrations with text, email, analytics. Cutting edge engineering services for creating backend systems and line of business applications and the sophistication needed for cloud enablement. These services with the skill sets and maturity that we bring to small enterprises, we feel will make a compelling value proposition in terms if the functionality delivered at very practical and down to earth prices.

After designing and developing a unique, customized website, engineers create web applications that give site visitors plenty of functionality. Designs also include the latest payment gateway integration and technology. Equitronix development also provides back end systems that allow stake holders to perform a variety of functions, including internal collaboration. These features combine to deliver a unique, yet rich, user experience with the business when purchasing a service or product.

Equitronix developers provide exceptional design options with a well-engineered back end system. Applications and websites are always on, highly available, secure and reliable. Equitronix is dedicated to using reliable cloud solutions, including hosting on well-established and reputable cloud providers, such as Azure.

The website developer and designer company diligently seeks to provide software that is practical, useable and simple. The company prides themselves on offering their services to small-to-medium businesses, giving them the services they need at an optimal price for the biggest return on investment.

For more information about digital solutions, website development, cloud services or other applications for businesses, visit the Equitronix website or call 908-264-4980.

About Equitronix: Equitronix is a full-service Internet marketing company geared to serving small-to-medium sized businesses. They are focused on meeting client’s needs and creating customized end-to-end solutions. Services include website development, SEO and cloud computing, as well as product development.

Company: Equitronix

Address: 2816 Morris Ave., Suite #37

City: Union

State: NJ

Zip Code: 07083

Phone: 908-264-4980

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

VEON Ltd is about to sell the Armenian branch

VEON is about to sell the Armenian branch to people, who have been involved in the corruption deals in Armenia.

 
NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam-listed multinational telecom operator VEON reportedly aims to sell its Beeline-branded Armenian division to recently founded Team Telecom Armenia, which hasn’t started any operations yet in the telecommunication industry of Armenia. The owner of Team Telecom Armenia is Hayk Yesayan, former CEO of Ucom (one of the Armenian telecommunication operators) and current shareholder of 6 % of total shares of the Ucom.


Anonymous insiders are claiming that Yesayan Hayk and his brother are facing criminal case No. 62208119, initiated by the National Security Service of Republic of Armenia, where they together with Gagik Khachatryan's family (Gagik Khachatryan is former Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia) are accused in being involved in some corruption scheme leading to embezzlement of state funds.

Yesayan brothers were officials (shareholders and top management positions in Ucom and IU Networks LLC) in the organizations which were involved in money laundering scheme resulting in approximately 3M USD damage of state budget. Yesayan’ and Gagik Khachatryan family’s Canadian and UAE partners' accounts have been also used in that scheme.

Hayk Yesayan as an owner of the Team Telecom Armenia is with exploratory talks on a potential sale reportedly during in last three months with VEON Amsterdam B.V.  and informed the Armenian mass media about finalizing the deal and its confirmation from VEON Amsterdam B.V.


Over the past two years, the new government of Armenia is fighting against the previous oligarchic regime and trying to return the funds stolen from the state. And this scheme is considered to be another corrupted deal where Team Armenia Telecom plays a crucial role.


Today, in Armenia, society is wondering: how it comes that a businessman like Hayk Yesayan, who worked for the oligarchs of the former regime and had been fed by that regime, can negotiate deals with internationally sound companies. This may obviously influence the reputation of such a company and moreover affects its indicator in the stock market.

Maybe VEON top management is not fully aware of the above-described situation or is not willing to know?

 

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