Endocare Inc

Endocare Inc., an Irvine-based maker of medical devices, agreed Wednesday to pay $750,000 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations of accounting fraud. Three former company officers who were accused of helping to perpetrate the fraud also settled civil charges with the SEC.

Endocare Inc., an Irvine maker of medical devices, said Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are investigating the accounting practices underlying the company's 2001 and 2002 financial statements. Endocare said it would cooperate fully with the investigations. The company also announced Tuesday that it hired Ernst & Young as its auditor, replacing KPMG. In July, Endocare said its revenue for the first half of 2002 more than tripled to $19.2 million.

Endocare Inc., an Irvine developer of cold treatments for prostate cancer, said Wednesday that it has received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market an improved method of performing cryosurgery. The medical device company said in a press release that its "percutaneous access introducer" is designed to establish direct access into the prostate for faster and easier placement of the cryoprobe, which kills targeted tumors by freezing them.

Irvine-based Endocare Inc., a manufacturer of surgical devices, lost $1.4 million, or 14 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $1 million, or 12 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue totaled $506,000, down slightly from $515,000. For the year, the company posted a loss of $4.8 million, or 49 cents a share, compared with a loss of $3.9 million, or 48 cents a share, on a fewer number of shares outstanding. Revenue totaled $2.

Endocare Inc., which makes surgical devices for treating prostate disease, said it lost $577,000 for 1995, compared with a loss of $263,000 in 1994. Per-share amounts were not available. Revenue dropped by 50% to $1.3 million, because of a shift in the urology market from laser-based therapy to electro-vaporization devices. The company said its results were as a division of Medstone International Inc. In January, Endocare became an independent company.

Endocare Inc., which develops and makes devices to treat prostate diseases, said it has received a two-year, $1.5-million line of credit. The funds, which are being provided by partnerships managed by Technology Funding, a Northern California venture capital firm, will be used to market Endocare's cryosurgery equipment for treating prostate cancer.

Two former executives at Endocare Inc., an Irvine-based medical products company, were indicted Monday for allegedly helping to inflate company revenue in a fraud that cost investors more than $200 million. Former Chief Executive Paul W. Mikus and former Chief Financial Officer John V. Cracchiolo were charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, filing false statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission and lying to Endocare's accountants.

In the battle against prostate cancer, medical science has tried it all--surgery to remove the diseased gland, radiation to nuke the malignant cells, even last-resort hormone treatments to make the cancer shrink. Endocare Inc. has another way to stop the cancer cold: freeze it to death. The Irvine company makes devices for performing prostate "cryoablation," a fancy term for a procedure that freezes the prostate to below-arctic temperatures.

Endocare Inc. disclosed Tuesday that it was being investigated over stock-option grants less than a month after settling fraud cases with U.S. regulators. The Irvine-based medical device company said the investigation followed an internal review that turned up questionable grants. The grants involved former officers and directors, Endocare said in a statement.

Federal regulators plan to file lawsuits against two former directors and one current board member of Endocare Inc., an Irvine-based maker of medical devices, the company said Friday. Endocare said Securities and Exchange Commission investigators, who spent more than a year scrutinizing the company's accounting practices, notified Endocare that they would recommend that the agency's commissioners take the action.

Two former executives at Endocare Inc., an Irvine-based medical products company, were indicted Monday for allegedly helping to inflate company revenue in a fraud that cost investors more than $200 million. Former Chief Executive Paul W. Mikus and former Chief Financial Officer John V. Cracchiolo were charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, filing false statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission and lying to Endocare's accountants.

U.S. securities regulators charged former Endocare Inc. Chief Executive Paul W. Mikus and former Chief Financial Officer John V. Cracchiolo with fraud, saying that the two "significantly overstated" income. The alleged fraud occurred during 2001 and 2002, with the company overstating revenue as much as 33% in one quarter, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement. Irvine-based Endocare makes medical devices to treat cancers and prostate ailments.

Endocare Inc. disclosed Tuesday that it was being investigated over stock-option grants less than a month after settling fraud cases with U.S. regulators. The Irvine-based medical device company said the investigation followed an internal review that turned up questionable grants. The grants involved former officers and directors, Endocare said in a statement.

Endocare Inc., an Irvine-based maker of medical devices, agreed Wednesday to pay $750,000 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations of accounting fraud. Three former company officers who were accused of helping to perpetrate the fraud also settled civil charges with the SEC.

Federal regulators plan to file lawsuits against two former directors and one current board member of Endocare Inc., an Irvine-based maker of medical devices, the company said Friday. Endocare said Securities and Exchange Commission investigators, who spent more than a year scrutinizing the company's accounting practices, notified Endocare that they would recommend that the agency's commissioners take the action.

Endocare Inc., an Irvine maker of medical devices, said Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are investigating the accounting practices underlying the company's 2001 and 2002 financial statements. Endocare said it would cooperate fully with the investigations. The company also announced Tuesday that it hired Ernst & Young as its auditor, replacing KPMG. In July, Endocare said its revenue for the first half of 2002 more than tripled to $19.2 million.

Endocare Inc., an Irvine maker of surgical devices, said Thursday it will acquire closely held Timm Medical Technologies Inc. for $34.8 million in cash and stock to expand its urology business and add to its national sales division. Endocare will pay $11 million in cash and 1.62 million shares of Endocare common stock, valued at $23.8 million at Thursday's close, said Len Hall, a spokesman for Endocare. The stock closed at $14.69, up 72 cents, on Nasdaq.

Endocare Inc., an Irvine cryosurgical and stent technology company, said Tuesday that new data analyzing its cold treatment of cancer over five years has found that cryoablation is almost as effective as radiation therapies for treating prostate cancer. The company said in a press release that the five-center study, involving 975 subjects, showed comparable success rates of cryoablation and radiation therapy, including brachytherapy, in treating prostate cancer patients.

Endocare Inc. in Irvine and Cryomedical Sciences Inc. have settled a legal patent-infringement dispute, the companies said Monday. Although more specific terms weren't disclosed, the U.S. District Court settlement included licensing agreements under which each company could use certain of the other's patented technologies.

Endocare Inc., an Irvine developer of cold-surgery and stent technologies, said Tuesday that it expects federal approval of Medicare coverage for its treatment of prostate cancer for patients who don't respond to radiation therapy. The company said the approval could come this week for the procedure, called cryosurgery, which uses extremely cold temperatures to kill diseased tissue.