What the heck happened to Tauriga Sciences Inc. in Wappingers Falls? The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wants to know.
On Sept. 21 the agency ordered a public hearing to answer that question “for the protection of investors” of the publicly-traded company.
Tauriga’s website depicts itself as a life sciences company that makes Tauri-Gum, a kosher chewing gum infused with cannabinoids, the non-psychoactive compounds of marijuana plants. It has also offered body oils, anti-wrinkle creams, dietary supplements and cannabinoid-scented bath bombs. And it was developing a pharmaceutical-grade version of its chewing gum to treat nausea in chemotherapy patients.
The business was founded in 2001 as New England Acquisitions Inc., according to Florida corporation records, changed its name to Atlantic Wine Agencies Inc. in 2004, became Novo Energies Corp. in 2012, renamed itself as Immunovative Inc. in 2013 and then quickly changed to Tauriga Sciences.
Tauriga is still listed as an active, out-of-state Florida corporation.
As Tauriga, it has operated in Danbury Connecticut, Manhattan, and since around 2020 or 2021 in an office complex on Nancy Court in Wappingers Falls.
Seth M. Shaw is the chief executive officer.
Tauriga has not filed required SEC reports since 2021. Its last quarterly report showed a net loss of $4,114,999 for the last nine months of 2021.
Tauriga shares were still being quoted on the OTC Link over-the-counter market as of Aug. 7, according to the SEC. The share price, according to a chart on Tauriga’s website, peaked at around $6.83 in March 2014, dropped precipitously to $0.15 by February 2016, and bottomed out last October.
The SEC said it will consider whether it is necessary to suspend or revoke Tauriga’s securities registration, at a yet-to-be-scheduled hearing. If the company fails to respond, it may be deemed in default and a final order will be issued.
Efforts to contact Shaw for his side of the story were unsuccessful. A message sent to his Tauriga email address was returned as undeliverable; a message submitted through Tauriga’s website got no reply; and Shaw’s telephone mailbox was full and unable to accept a new message.
