The U.S. Supreme Court decided yesterday that it would not hear appeals from two former senior executives of Duane Reade Inc. The appeals follow the executives’ 2010 securities fraud convictions for inflating earnings at the New York-based pharmacy chain.

Anthony Cuti, Duane Reade’s former CEO, and William Tennant, the company’s CFO, both requested that the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals dismiss their convictions, arguing that testimony from accountants used at trial should not have been admitted into evidence on the grounds that they were not experts able to offer expert testimony. The court rejected this argument and upheld the convictions.

In June 2010, a federal jury in Manhattan found Cuti and Tennant guilty of operating a scheme to falsely inflate Duane Reade’s earnings from 2000 to 2004. Cuti was found guilty of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and making false statements to the SEC and was sentenced in August 2011 to three years imprisonment and a fine of $5 million. Tennant was convicted of securities fraud and sentenced to time served and a fine of $10,000.

Federal authorities believe the scheme led to misrepresentations being made to shareholders and private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, which purchased Duane Reade a decade ago. Oak Hill then sold the company to Walgreen Co. for $614 million in 2010.

If you or someone you know has lost money as a result of an investment or Ponzi scheme, please contact Richard Frankowski at 888-741-7503 to discuss your potential legal remedies or complete the contact form.