Publicly Traded Semler Scientific Buys More Bitcoin as Law Firm Targets Company

A U.S. law firm is considering potential legal claims against Nasdaq-listed healthcare technology firm Semler Scientific, on behalf of the Bitcoin-holding company’s shareholders—though it hasn’t stopped Semler from buying up BTC.

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. on Thursday said it is looking into whether Semler Scientific violated federal securities laws or engaged in other unlawful business practices. In a statement, the law firm urged Semler’s shareholders to contact its lawyers in relation to the investigation.

The medical device company revealed in February that the U.S. Department of Justice might file a legal complaint against its business.

The DOJ opened an initial civil investigation into Semler’s reimbursement claims, or requests to be reimbursed for certain business expenses related to its QuantaFlo device, in 2017. The federal agency also sent several follow-up requests to Semler in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. And, more recently, the two parties tried and failed to settle the matter.

It isn’t immediately clear whether the potential upcoming Justice Department legal complaint would go beyond the breadth of the agency’s initial inquiry into Semler Scientific’s business practices.

Neither Semler Scientific nor Bragar Eagel & Squire immediately replied to Decrypt’s request for comment. 

Semler Scientific shares were trading at $44.20 on Friday, down 1.6% over the past 24 hours. Semler, which has pivoted its focus to become a Bitcoin treasury, has rallied following a rough patch for the company’s stock following the announcement of the DOJ investigation.

The company recently bought another $50 million worth of Bitcoin, as announced Friday, bringing its total holdings to 4,264 tokens, worth roughly $466 million based on current prices.

Bitcoin was recently trading at $108,915, down 2.5% over the past 24 hours but up 16% during the past month, according to CoinGecko data.

Edited by James Rubin