<p>SAN FRANCISCO — Two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who founded a biotech company that tested fecal matter are accused of bilking their investors and health insurance providers, federal prosecutors said Thursday.</p>
<p>Zachary Schulz Apte and Jessica Sunshine Richman, co-founders of now-bankrupt microbiome testing company uBiome, were <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/ubiome-co-founders-charged-federal-securities-health-care-fraud-conspiracies"> indicted</a> Thursday on multiple federal charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering. </p>
<p>Their court appearances have not been scheduled, and it was not immediately clear if they had attorneys who could speak on their behalf. </p>
<p>Apte, 36, and Richman, 46, founded uBiome in 2012 as a direct-to-consumer service called “Gut Explorer.” Customers would submit a fecal sample that the company analyzed in a laboratory, comparing the consumer’s microbiome to others’ microbiomes, prosecutors said. The service cost less than $100 initially. </p>
<p>The company grew to include “clinical” tests of gut and vaginal microbiomes, which were aimed to be used by medical providers so uBiome could seek up to $3,000 in reimbursements from health insurance companies.</p>
<p>The federal indictment states that uBiome sought upwards of $300 million in reimbursement claims from private and public health insurers between 2015 and 2019. The company was ultimately paid more than $35 million for tests that “were not validated and not medically necessary."</p>
<p>The defendants are also accused of falsifying documents, lying and concealing facts about their billing model when asked by insurance providers, as well as misleading and defrauding their investors.</p>
