Today the Wall Street Journal reported on Usana CFO Gil Fuller’s apparent lack of a CPA license, while reporting in SEC filings that he was a Certified Public Accountant.

According to the article:

Utah authorities are investigating whether the chief financial officer of Usana Health Sciences Inc. misstated his accounting credentials, the latest in a series of credentials flaps for the beleaguered vitamin maker.

…

More than 20 of Usana’s annual reports and proxy statements have described its chief financial officer, Gilbert A. Fuller, as a certified public accountant. But Mr. Fuller’s certification expired in 1986, 10 years before he joined the company. Utah law forbids the use of “certified public accountant” by someone with an expired license.

“You can’t say you’re a CPA if you have an expired license,” said Jennifer Bolton, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Commerce. Ms. Bolton said the department is looking into Mr. Fuller in response to a complaint it received about him

“I did not intend to mislead anybody about anything in this regard,” Mr. Fuller said in an interview. “I thought it was an accurate statement.”

“I did pass the CPA exam,” Mr. Fuller said. “I have never tried to describe myself as a practicing public accountant. I simply provided it as biographical information.” Mr. Fuller said he had asked the Utah authorities for guidance on “what is the customary way to describe someone who at one point was a practicing CPA.”

Why am I not surprised that Usana is pretending it was a mistake? Those representing themselves as CPAs are required to know the rules – rules which clearly state that Fuller can’t call himself a CPA because he doesn’t have a license.

Is it any surprise that now another Usana person is also alleged to have falsified credentials, first reported in this WSJ article?

Mr. Fuller pointed out that he isn’t alone. Usana’s proxy statements also inaccurately describe director Jerry G. McClain, the company’s “audit committee financial expert,” as a CPA. Mr. McClain’s certification expired in 2004, according to the Utah authorities. Mr. McLain didn’t return a call for comment.

Wow. Usana’s defense is now that they have lots of made-up credentials within their ranks. Not a good move.