Cardiff Lexington Corp 10-K

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS. An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully read and consider all of the risks described below, together with all of the other information contained or referred to in this report, before making an investment decision with respect to our securities. If any of the following events occur, our financial condition, business and results of operations (including cash flows) may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our shares could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Risks Related to Our Business and Structure The report of our independent registered public accounting firm included a “going concern” explanatory paragraph. The report of our independent registered public accounting firm that accompanies our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025 contains an explanatory paragraph relating to our ability to continue as a going concern. We had previously sustained operating losses since our inception, have an accumulated deficit of $79,490,980 and $72,949,085 as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and had negative cash flow from operating activities of $2,853,274 and $2,765,797 during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. These factors raise a substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. However, management believes, based on our operating plan, that current working capital and current and expected additional financing should be sufficient to fund operations and satisfy our obligations as they come due for at least one year. However, additional funds from new financing and/or future equity raises are required for continued operations and to execute our business plan and our strategy of acquiring additional businesses. The funds required to execute our business plan will depend on the size, capital structure and purchase price consideration that the seller of a target business deems acceptable in a given transaction. The amount of funds needed to execute our business plan also depends on what portion of the purchase price of a target business the seller of that business is willing to take in the form of seller notes or our equity or equity in one of our subsidiaries. Given these factors, we believe that the amount of outside additional capital necessary to execute our business plan on the low end (assuming target company sellers accept a significant portion of the purchase price in the form of seller notes or our equity or equity in one of our subsidiaries) ranges between $5 million to $10 million. If, and to the extent, that sellers are unwilling to accept a significant portion of the purchase price in seller notes and equity, then the cash required to execute our business plan could be as much as $10 million. Although we do not believe that we will require additional cash to continue our operations over the next twelve months, there are no assurances that we will be able to raise our revenues to a level which supports profitable operations and provides sufficient funds to pay obligations in the future. Our prior losses have had an adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, continued operations and our ability to acquire additional businesses may be dependent on our ability to obtain additional financing in the future, and there are no assurances that such financing will be available to us at all or will be available in sufficient amounts or on reasonable terms. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty. If we are unable to generate additional funds in the future through our operations, financings or from other sources or transactions, we will exhaust our resources and will be unable to continue operations. If we cannot continue as a going concern, our stockholders would likely lose most or all of their investment in our company. Our typical accounts receivable collection lifecycle is between 12 and 24 months. This extended period creates several risks relating to our liquidity and cash flow, exposure to credit losses, dependence on external financing, negative impact on our financial metrics and operational challenges. We focus on plaintiff-related care and provide orthopedic healthcare to uninsured patients. Our patients have typically been in an accident and have filed a lawsuit as a plaintiff against the defendant who is allegedly responsible for the accident as the result of negligence or another tort. Since the patient is uninsured, we must wait for payments of amounts owed to us until the patient’s lawyer settles the claim against the defendant’s insurance company or the defendant. As a result of our need to wait for such a settlement, we experience an extended accounts receivable collection period, which typically ranges from 12 to 24 months. This extended accounts receivable collection period is very different from a traditional product or service business that collects a majority of receivables within 30, 60, and/or 90-day increments. We routinely receive a letter of protection from our patient and its legal counsel which ensures payment in full from insurance settlements. A letter of protection is a legally binding contract that exists between the patient’s personal injury attorney, the patient, and our company, as the healthcare provider. The letter promises that the patient will pay the medical expenses after the patient’s injury claim reaches its settlement. 15 This prolonged collection cycle presents several risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, including the following. · Liquidity and Cash Flow Constraints : The long duration between the sale of our services and the receipt of payment from our customers can significantly strain our liquidity and cash flow. This extended time period can limit our ability to invest in growth opportunities, meet our operating expenses, and fulfill our obligations as they become due. · Increased Exposure to Credit Losses : Notwithstanding that we typically receive a letter of protection, extended collection periods increase the risk that a net settlement will not be collected in cases where no settlement is reached with the defendant’s insurance company and the plaintiff (our patient) loses the case at trial, or the case is abandoned, potentially leading to higher than anticipated credit losses. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we recognized credit losses of $262,928 and $266,000, respectively. · Dependence on External Financing : To mitigate the impact of delayed collections, we may need to rely more heavily on external financing sources such as factoring arrangements, lines of credit, loans, or equity financing. Such dependence may result in increased interest expenses, dilution of stockholders' equity, or restrictive covenants that could limit our operational flexibility. · Impact on Financial Metrics : Prolonged accounts receivable cycles can distort our financial metrics, including working capital ratios, days sales outstanding (DSO), and cash conversion cycle. These distorted metrics may negatively influence investor perceptions, credit ratings, and our overall financial health. · Operational Challenges : Managing long accounts receivable cycles requires robust credit risk management and collections processes. Failure to effectively manage these processes could lead to inefficiencies and higher operational costs. As a result of these risks relating to our extended accounts receivable collection cycles, our financial condition, prospects and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. We lack systematic processes and resources to support the aging of our accounts receivables, which can result in inefficiencies and higher operational costs. In order to remedy this issue, we expect to make significant expenditures. Our business model involves providing healthcare services to patients who have been involved in accidents, with payment for these services typically collected from the patient’s settlement with the defendant’s insurer. This business model results in an extended accounts receivable collection period of 12 to 24 months. The lengthy collection period may adversely impact our cash flow and liquidity, making it more challenging to meet operational and financial obligations. Historically, we have not maintained systematic processes and resources to manage and monitor the aging of our accounts receivables. The settlement process is complex and ongoing patient care can further complicate the accurate aging of receivables. These complexities may lead to difficulties in assessing the true financial health of our company and in predicting cash flow accurately. Currently, our third-party billing company only captures the first date of service for each patient. This first date of service may be months before surgery or before any significant services have been rendered. The receivable relating to the patient continues to grow over time, which distorts the actual aging of the receivable. With regard to facilities and anesthesiology services, our third-party billing company historically had not captured any first date of service, so we do not have historical data relating to the aging of accounts receivable relating to these services. Recently, we have been working with our third-party billing company to resolve the systematic issue with respect to facilities and anesthesiology services in order to begin to capture the first date of service. We believe that these changes to our financial systems will assist us going forward, but we expect a 12 to 24 month lag before we are able to obtain relevant aging data with regard to these receivables. 16 We expect that it will take 12 to 24 months to support the aging of our accounts receivables and ensure accurate estimation of the receivable lifecycle, and will require us to devote significant resources during that period. These resources include additional dedicated personnel. We do not expect a significant additional out-of-pocket cost to remedy this situation. We are in the process of implementing enhanced practices to better capture and manage the aging of its billings for accounts receivable. However, these practices are not yet fully operational. Until these new practices are effectively in place, we remain exposed to risks associated with delayed collections and potential inaccuracies in financial reporting. If we are unable to successfully implement and maintain these enhanced processes, we may face continued challenges in managing our accounts receivables, which could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Investors should consider these risks when evaluating our financial stability and performance. Our acquisition strategy exposes us to substantial risk. Our acquisition of companies is subject to substantial risk, including but not limited to the failure to identify material problems during due diligence (for which we may not be indemnified post-closing), the risk of over-paying for assets (or not making acquisitions on an accretive basis), the ability to obtain or retain customers and the risks of entering markets where we have limited experience. While we perform due diligence on prospective acquisitions, we may not be able to discover all potential operational deficiencies in such entities. Our prior and future businesses may not perform as expected or the returns from such businesses may not support the financing utilized to acquire them or maintain them. Furthermore, integration and consolidation of acquired businesses requires substantial human, financial and other resources and may divert management’s attention from our existing business concerns, disrupt our ongoing business or not be successfully integrated. Even if we consummate businesses that we believe will be accretive, those businesses may in fact result in a decrease in revenues as a result of incorrect assumptions in our evaluation of such businesses, unforeseen consequences, or other external events beyond our control. Furthermore, if we consummate any future acquisitions, our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly, and stockholders will generally not have the opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial, and other relevant information that we will consider in determining the application of these funds and other resources. As a result, the consummation of acquisitions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We may experience difficulty as we evaluate, acquire and integrate businesses that we may acquire, which could result in drains on our resources, including the attention of our management, and disruptions of our on-going business. We acquire small to mid-sized businesses in various industries. Generally, because such businesses are privately held, we may experience difficulty in evaluating potential target businesses as much of the information concerning these businesses is not publicly available. Therefore, our estimates and assumptions used to evaluate the operations, management and market risks with respect to potential target businesses may be subject to various risks and uncertainties. Further, the time and costs associated with identifying and evaluating potential target businesses may cause a substantial drain on our resources and may divert our management team’s attention away from the operations of our businesses for significant periods of time. In addition, we may have difficulty effectively integrating and managing acquisitions. The management or improvement of businesses we acquire may be hindered by a number of factors, including limitations in the standards, controls, procedures and policies implemented in connection with such acquisitions. Further, the management of an acquired business may involve a substantial reorganization of the business’ operations resulting in the loss of employees and customers or the disruption of our ongoing businesses. We may experience greater than expected costs or difficulties relating to an acquisition, in which case, we might not achieve the anticipated returns from any particular acquisition. 17 We may not be able to effectively integrate the businesses that we acquire. Our ability to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions will depend on our ability to integrate those businesses with our own. The combination of multiple independent businesses is a complex, costly and time-consuming process and there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully integrate businesses into our business, or if such integration is successfully accomplished, that such integration will not be costlier or take longer than presently contemplated. Integration of future acquisitions may include various risks and uncertainties, including the factors discussed in the paragraph below. If we cannot successfully integrate and manage the businesses within a reasonable time, we may not be able to realize the potential and anticipated benefits of such acquisitions, which could have a material adverse effect on our stock price, business, cash flows, results of operations and financial position. We will consider acquisitions that we believe will complement, strengthen and enhance our growth. We evaluate opportunities on a preliminary basis from time to time, but these transactions may not advance beyond the preliminary stages or be completed. Such acquisitions are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including: · the inability to effectively integrate the operations, products, technologies, and personnel of the acquired companies (some of which are in diverse geographic regions) and achieve expected synergies; · the potential disruption of existing business and diversion of management’s attention from day-to-day operations; · the inability to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures, and policies; · the need or obligation to divest portions of the acquired companies; · the potential failure to identify material problems and liabilities during due diligence review of acquisition targets; · the potential failure to obtain sufficient indemnification rights to fully offset possible liabilities associated with acquired businesses; and · the challenges associated with operating in new geographic regions. Failure to manage our growing and changing business could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. If we are able to successfully grow our operations, which cannot be assured, we expect to encounter additional challenges to our internal processes, capital commitment process, and acquisition funding and financing capabilities. Our existing operations, personnel, systems, and internal control may not be adequate to support our growth and expansion and may require us to make additional unanticipated investments in our infrastructure. To manage the future growth of our operations, we will be required to improve our administrative, operational, and financial systems, procedures, and controls, and maintain, expand, train, and manage our growing employee base. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, we may not be able to take advantage of market opportunities, execute our business strategies successfully or respond to competitive pressures. As a result, our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. 18 We face competition for businesses that fit our acquisition strategy and, therefore, we may have to acquire targets at sub-optimal prices or, alternatively, forego certain acquisition opportunities. We have been formed to acquire and manage small to mid-sized businesses. In pursuing such acquisitions, we expect to face strong competition from a wide range of other potential purchasers. Although the pool of potential purchasers for such businesses is typically smaller than for larger businesses, those potential purchasers can be aggressive in their approach to acquiring such businesses. Furthermore, we expect that we may need to use third-party financing in order to fund some or all of these potential acquisitions, thereby increasing our acquisition costs. To the extent that other potential purchasers do not need to obtain third-party financing or are able to obtain such financing on more favorable terms, they may be in a position to be more aggressive with their acquisition proposals. As a result, in order to be competitive, our acquisition proposals may need to be aggressively priced, including at price levels that exceed what we originally determined to be fair or appropriate. Alternatively, we may determine that we cannot pursue on a cost-effective basis what would otherwise be an attractive acquisition opportunity. We may not be able to successfully fund acquisitions due to the unavailability of equity or debt financing on acceptable terms, which could impede the implementation of our acquisition strategy. We have historically financed acquisitions primarily through additional equity and debt financings. Because the timing and size of acquisitions cannot be readily predicted, we may need to be able to obtain funding on short notice to benefit fully from attractive acquisition opportunities. The sale of additional shares of any class of equity will be subject to market conditions and investor demand for such shares at prices that may not be in the best interest of our stockholders. The sale of additional equity securities could also result in dilution to our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could require us to agree to operating and financial covenants that would restrict our operations. Financing may not be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. These risks may materially adversely affect our ability to pursue our acquisition strategy. We may change our management and acquisition strategies without the consent of our stockholders, which may result in a determination by us to pursue riskier business activities. We may change our strategy at any time without the consent of our stockholders, which may result in our acquiring businesses or assets that are different from, and possibly riskier than, the strategy described in this report. A change in our strategy may increase our exposure to interest rate and currency fluctuations, subject us to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act, or subject us to other risks and uncertainties that affect our operations and profitability. We are a holding company and rely on distributions and other payments, advances, and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations. We are a holding company and have no material assets other than ownership of equity interests in our subsidiaries. We have no independent means of generating revenue. We intend to cause our subsidiaries to make distributions to our company in an amount sufficient to cover all applicable taxes payable and dividends, if any, declared by us. Our ability to service our debt, if any, depends on the results of operations of our subsidiaries and upon the ability of our subsidiaries to provide us with cash, whether in the form of dividends, loans or other distributions, to pay amounts due on our obligations. Future financing arrangements may contain negative covenants that limit the ability of our subsidiaries to declare or pay dividends or make distributions. Our subsidiaries are separate and distinct legal entities. To the extent that we need funds, and our subsidiaries are restricted from declaring or paying such dividends or making such distributions under applicable law or regulations or are otherwise unable to provide such funds (for example, due to restrictions in future financing arrangements that limit the ability of our operating subsidiaries to distribute funds), our liquidity and financial condition could be materially harmed. 19 In the future, we may seek to enter into credit facilities to help fund our acquisition capital and working capital needs. These credit facilities may expose us to additional risks associated with leverage and may inhibit our operating flexibility. We may seek to enter into credit facilities with third-party lenders to help fund our acquisitions. Such credit facilities will likely require us to pay a commitment fee on the undrawn amount and will likely contain a number of affirmative and restrictive covenants. If we violate any such covenants, our lenders could accelerate the maturity of any debt outstanding. Such debt may be secured by our assets, including the stock we may own in businesses that we acquire and the rights we have under intercompany loan agreements that we may enter into with our businesses. Our ability to meet our debt service obligations may be affected by events beyond our control and will depend primarily upon cash produced by businesses that we currently manage and may acquire in the future and distributed or paid to us. Any failure to comply with the terms of our indebtedness may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, we expect that such credit facilities will bear interest at floating rates which will generally change as interest rates change. We will bear the risk that the rates that we are charged by our lenders will increase faster than we can grow the cash flow from our businesses or businesses that we may acquire in the future, which could reduce profitability, materially adversely affect our ability to service our debt, cause us to breach covenants contained in our third-party credit facilities and reduce cash flow available for distribution. The loss of the services of the current officers and directors could severely impact our business operations and future development, which could result in a loss of revenues and one’s ability to ever sell any shares. Our performance is substantially dependent upon the professional expertise of the current officers and board of directors. Each has extensive expertise in business development and acquisitions, and we are dependent on their abilities. If they are unable to perform their duties, this could have an adverse effect on business operations, financial condition, and operating results if we are unable to replace them with other individuals qualified to develop and market our business. The loss of their services could result in a loss of revenues, which could result in a reduction of the value of any shares you hold as well as the complete loss of your investment. Our future success is dependent on the management teams of our businesses, the loss of any of whom could materially adversely affect our financial condition, business, and results of operations. The future success of our existing and future businesses depends on the respective management teams of those businesses because we intend to operate our businesses on a stand-alone basis, primarily relying on their existing management teams for day-to-day operations. Consequently, their operational success, as well as the success of any organic growth strategy, will be dependent on the continuing efforts of the management teams of our businesses. We will seek to provide these individuals with equity incentives and to have employment agreements with certain persons we have identified as key to their businesses. However, these measures may not prevent these individuals from leaving their employment. The loss of services of one or more of these individuals may materially adversely affect our financial condition, business, and results of operations. We may engage in a business transaction with one or more target businesses that have relationships with our executive officers, our directors, or any of their respective affiliates, which may create or present conflicts of interest. We may decide to engage in a business transaction with one or more target businesses with which our executive officers, our directors, or any of their respective affiliates, have a relationship, which may create or present conflicts of interest. Regardless of whether we obtain a fairness opinion from an independent investment banking firm with respect to such a transaction, conflicts of interest may still exist with respect to a particular acquisition and, as a result, the terms of the acquisition of a target business may not be as advantageous to our stockholders as it would have been absent any conflicts of interest. 20 The operational objectives and business plans of our businesses may conflict with our operational and business objectives or with the plans and objectives of another business we own and operate. Our businesses face different risks and opportunities depending on market and economic conditions in their respective regions. A business’ operational objectives and business plans may not be similar to our objectives and plans or the objectives and plans of another business that we own and operate. This could create competing demands for resources, such as management attention and funding needed for operations or acquisitions, in the future. If, in the future, we cease to control and operate our businesses or other businesses that we acquire in the future or engage in certain other activities, we may be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We have the ability to make investments in businesses that we will not operate or control. If we make significant investments in businesses that we do not operate or control, or that we cease to operate or control, or if we commence certain investment-related activities, we may be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Our decision to sell a business will be based upon financial, operating, and other considerations rather than a plan to complete a sale of a business within any specific time frame. If we were deemed to be an investment company, we would either have to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, obtain exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, or modify our investments or organizational structure or our contract rights to fall outside the definition of an investment company. Registering as an investment company could, among other things, materially adversely affect our financial condition, business, and results of operations, materially limit our ability to borrow funds or engage in other transactions involving leverage and require us to add directors who are independent of us and otherwise will subject us to additional regulation that will be costly and time-consuming. Risks Related to our Healthcare Business Our ability to grow our business through organic expansion either by developing new facilities or by modifying existing facilities is dependent upon many factors. Our ability to grow our business through organic expansion is dependent on capacity and occupancy at our facilities. Should our facilities reach maximum occupancy, we may need to implement other growth strategies either by developing new facilities or by modifying existing facilities. Our facilities typically need to be purpose-designed in order to enable the type and quality of service that we provide. Consequently, we must either develop sites to create facilities or purchase or lease existing facilities, which may require substantial modification. We must be able to identify suitable sites and there is no guarantee that such sites will be available at all, or at an economically viable cost or in areas of sufficient demand for our services. The subsequent successful development and construction of a new facility is contingent upon, among other things, negotiation of construction contracts, regulatory permits and planning consents and satisfactory completion of construction. Similarly, our ability to expand existing facilities is also dependent upon various factors, including identification of appropriate expansion projects, permitting, licensure, financing, integration into our relationships with payors and referral sources, and margin pressure as new facilities are filled with patients. Delays caused by difficulties in respect of any of the above factors may lead to cost overruns and longer periods before a return is generated on an investment, if at all. We may incur significant capital expenditure but due to a regulatory, planning, or other reason, we may find that we are prevented from opening a new facility or modifying an existing facility. Moreover, even when incurring such development capital expenditure, there is no guarantee that we can fill beds when they become available. Upon operational commencement of a new facility, we typically expect that it will take approximately 12-18 months to reach our targeted occupancy level. Any delays or stoppages in our projects, the unsatisfactory completion or construction of such projects or the failure of such projects to increase our occupancy levels could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. 21 Changes to payment rates or methods of third-party payors, including government healthcare programs, changes to the laws and regulations that regulate payments for medical services, the failure of payment rates to increase as our costs increase, or changes to our payor mix, could adversely affect our operating margins and revenues. Our revenue is primarily provided by bodily injury insurance policies, general liability policies, and personal injury protection policies, which partially insulates our business from the declining reimbursement programs paid from or correlated to Medicare/Medicaid and traditional health insurance companies. However, we do also depend on private and governmental third-party sources of payment for the services provided to patients and assume financial risks related to changes in third-party reimbursement rates and changes in payor mix. In some cases, our revenue decreases if our volume or reimbursement decreases, but our expenses, including physician compensation, may not decrease proportionately. The amount we receive for our services may be adversely affected by market and cost factors as well as other factors over which we have no control, including changes to the Medicare and Medicaid payment systems. Health reform efforts at the federal and state levels may increase the likelihood of significant changes affecting government healthcare programs and private insurance coverage. Government healthcare programs are subject to, among other things, statutory and regulatory changes, administrative rulings, interpretations, and determinations concerning patient eligibility requirements, funding levels and the method of calculating payments or reimbursements, all of which could materially increase or decrease payments we receive from these government programs. Further, Medicare reimbursement rates are increasingly used by private payors as benchmarks to establish commercial reimbursement rates and any adjustment in Medicare reimbursement rates may impact our reimbursement rates from such private payors as well. There are significant private and public sector pressures to restrain healthcare costs and to restrict reimbursement rates for medical services, and we believe that such pressures will continue. Many states are continuing to collect less revenue than they did in prior years, and as a result may face ongoing budget shortfalls and underfunded pension and other liabilities. Deteriorating financial conditions in the states in which we operate could lead to reduced or delayed funding for Medicaid programs, which may reduce or delay the reimbursement we receive for services provided. Major payors of healthcare, including federal and state governments and private insurers, have taken steps in recent years to monitor and control costs, eligibility for and use and delivery of healthcare services, and to revise payment methodologies. As part of their efforts to contain healthcare costs, purchasers increasingly are demanding discounted or global fee structures or the assumption by healthcare providers of all or a portion of the financial risk through shared risk, capitation, and care management arrangements, often in exchange for exclusive or preferred participation in their benefit plans. Further, the ability of commercial payors to control healthcare costs may be enhanced by the increasing consolidation of insurance and managed care companies, which may reduce our ability to negotiate favorable contracts with such payors. We expect efforts to impose greater discounts and more stringent cost controls by government and other payors to continue, thereby reducing the payments we receive for our services. The effect of cost containment trends will depend, in part, on our payor mix. We cannot assure you that we will be able to offset reduced operating margins through cost reductions, increased volume, the introduction of additional procedures or otherwise. In addition, we cannot assure you that future changes to reimbursement rates by government healthcare programs, cost containment measures by private third-party payors, including fixed fee schedules and capitated payment arrangements, or other factors affecting payments for healthcare services will not adversely affect our future revenues, operating margins, or profitability. An increase in uninsured or underinsured patients or the deterioration in the collectability of the accounts of such patients could harm our results of operations. Collection of receivables from third-party payors and patients is critical to our operating performance. Our primary collection risks relate to uninsured patients and the portion of the bill that is the patient’s responsibility, which primarily includes co-payments and deductibles. We determine the transaction price based on established billing rates reduced by contractual adjustments provided to third-party payors, discounts provided to uninsured patients and implicit price concessions. Contractual adjustments and discounts are based on contractual agreements, discount policies and historical experience. Implicit price concessions are based on historical collection experience. Significant changes in business office operations, payor mix, economic conditions, or trends in federal and state governmental health coverage could affect our collection of accounts receivable, cash flow and results of operations. If we experience unexpected increases in the growth of uninsured and underinsured patients or in credit losses, our results of operations will be harmed. 22 Failure to timely or accurately bill for services could have a negative impact on our net revenue and cash flow. Billing for healthcare services is an important but complex aspect of our business. In particular, the current practice of providing physician services in advance of payment or, in some cases, irrespective of the patient’s ability to pay for such services, may have significant negative impact on our net revenue, credit losses and cash flow. We bill numerous and varied payors, such as bodily injury policies, general liability policies, and personal injury protection policies, self-pay patients, managed care payors and Medicare and Medicaid. These different payors typically have different billing requirements that must be satisfied prior to receiving payment for services rendered. Reimbursement is typically conditioned on our documenting medical necessity, the appropriate level of service and correctly applying diagnosis codes. Incorrect or incomplete documentation and billing information could result in non-payment for services rendered. Additional factors that could complicate our ability to timely or accurately bill payors include: · disputes between payors as to which party is responsible for payment; · failure of information systems and processes to submit and collect claims in a timely manner; · variation in coverage for similar services among various payors; · our reliance on third-parties to provide billing services for certain of our service lines; · the difficulty of adherence to specific compliance requirements, diagnosis coding and other procedures mandated by various payors; and · in connection with billing for physician services, failure to obtain proper physician credentialing and documentation in order to bill various payors. To the extent that the complexity associated with billing for healthcare services we provide causes delays in our cash collections, we may experience increased carrying costs associated with the aging of our accounts receivable as well as increased potential for credit losses. Our facilities face competition for patients from other healthcare providers. The healthcare industry is highly competitive, and competition among healthcare providers for patients and physicians has intensified in recent years. In all of the geographical areas in which we operate, there are other facilities that provide services comparable to those offered by our facilities. Some of our competitors include facilities that are owned by tax-supported governmental agencies or by nonprofit corporations and may be supported by endowments and charitable contributions and exempt from property, sales, and income taxes. Such exemptions and support are not available to us. Certain of our competitors may have greater financial resources, be better equipped and offer a broader range of services than we offer. The number of facilities in the geographic areas in which we operate has increased significantly. As a result, most of our facilities operate in an increasingly competitive environment. If our competitors are better able to attract patients, recruit physicians and other healthcare professionals, expand services or obtain favorable managed care contracts at their facilities, we may experience a decline in patient volume and our business may be harmed. 23 Our performance depends on our ability to recruit and retain quality physicians. The success and competitive advantage of our facilities depends, in part, on the number and quality of the physicians on the medical staffs of our facilities, the admitting practices of those physicians and our maintenance of good relations with those physicians. Physicians generally are not employees of our facilities and may have admitting privileges at other similar facilities to ours. They may terminate their affiliation with us at any time. If we are unable to provide high ethical and professional standards, adequate support personnel and technologically advanced equipment and facilities that meet the needs of those physicians, they may be discouraged from referring patients to our facilities and our results of operations may decline. Our performance depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified nurses and medical support staff and we face competition for staffing that may increase our labor costs and harm our results of operations. We depend on the efforts, abilities, and experience of our medical support personnel, including our nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians and other healthcare professionals. We compete with other healthcare providers in recruiting and retaining qualified hospital management, nurses, and other medical personnel. The nationwide shortage of nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel has been a significant operating issue facing us and other healthcare providers. In particular, like others in the healthcare industry, we continue to experience a shortage of nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel at our facilities in many geographic areas, which shortage was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In some areas, the increased demand for care is putting a strain on our resources and staff, which has required us to utilize higher-cost temporary labor and pay premiums above standard compensation for essential workers. This staffing shortage may require us to further enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel or require us to hire expensive temporary personnel. To the extent we cannot maintain sufficient staffing levels at our facilities, we may be required to limit our services at certain of our facilities, which would have a corresponding adverse effect on our net revenues. We cannot predict the degree to which we will be affected by the future availability or cost of attracting and retaining talented medical support staff. If our general labor and related expenses increase, we may not be able to raise our rates correspondingly. Our failure to either recruit and retain qualified management, nurses and other medical support personnel or control our labor costs could harm our results of operations. Natural disasters, unusually adverse weather conditions or pandemic outbreaks could cause permanent or temporary facility closures or cause patient traffic to decline, all of which could result in lost revenue and otherwise adversely affect our financial performance. The occurrence of one or more natural disasters, such as hurricanes, fires or floods, unusually adverse weather conditions, pandemic outbreaks, terrorist acts, or similar disruptions could adversely affect our operations and financial performance. For instance, our operations were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and several of our facilities were temporarily closed due to hurricanes in 2024. To the extent these events result in the closure of one or more of our facilities, our operations and financial performance could be materially adversely affected through lost revenue. In addition, these events could result in the temporary lack of an adequate work force in a facility or the temporary or long-term disruption in the supply of materials from suppliers. These events also could have indirect consequences, such as increases in the cost of insurance, if they were to result in significant loss of property or other insurable damage. If we do not continually enhance our facilities with the most recent technological advances in diagnostic and surgical equipment, our ability to maintain and expand our markets will be adversely affected. The technology used in medical equipment and related devices is constantly evolving and, as a result, manufacturers and distributors continue to offer new and upgraded products to healthcare providers. To compete effectively, we must continually assess our equipment needs and upgrade when significant technological advances occur. If our facilities do not stay current with technological advances in the healthcare industry, patients may seek treatment from other providers and/or physicians may refer their patients to alternate sources, which could adversely affect our results of operations and harm our business. 24 If we fail to comply with extensive laws and government regulations, we could suffer civil or criminal penalties or be required to make significant changes to our operations that could reduce our revenue and profitability. The healthcare industry is required to comply with extensive and complex laws and regulations at the federal, state and local government levels relating to, among other things: hospital billing practices and prices for services; relationships with physicians and other referral sources; adequacy of medical care and quality of medical equipment and services; ownership of facilities; qualifications of medical and support personnel; confidentiality, maintenance, privacy and security issues associated with health-related information and patient medical records; certification, licensure and accreditation of our facilities; operating policies and procedures, and; construction or expansion of facilities and services. Among these laws are the federal False Claims Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA and the federal anti-kickback statute and the provision of the Social Security Act commonly known as the “Stark Law.” These laws, and particularly the anti-kickback statute and the Stark Law, impact the relationships that we may have with physicians and other referral sources. We have a variety of financial relationships with physicians who refer patients to our facilities. The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, or OIG, has enacted safe harbor regulations that outline practices that are deemed protected from prosecution under the anti-kickback statute. A number of our current arrangements, including financial relationships with physicians and other referral sources, may not qualify for safe harbor protection under the anti-kickback statute. Failure to meet a safe harbor does not mean that the arrangement necessarily violates the anti-kickback statute but may subject the arrangement to greater scrutiny. We cannot assure you that practices that are outside of a safe harbor will not be found to violate the anti-kickback statute. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a Medicare self-referral disclosure protocol, which is intended to allow providers to self-disclose actual or potential violations of the Stark Law. Because there are only a few judicial decisions interpreting the Stark Law, there can be no assurance that our facilities will not be found in violation of the Stark Law or that self-disclosure of a potential violation would result in reduced penalties. Federal regulations issued under HIPAA contain provisions that require us to implement and, in the future, may require us to implement additional costly electronic media security systems and to adopt new business practices designed to protect the privacy and security of each of our patient’s health and related financial information. Such privacy and security regulations impose extensive administrative, physical, and technical requirements on us, restrict our use and disclosure of certain patient health and financial information, provide patients with rights with respect to their health information and require us to enter into contracts extending many of the privacy and security regulatory requirements to third parties that perform duties on our behalf. Additionally, recent changes to HIPAA regulations may result in greater compliance requirements, including obligations to report breaches of unsecured patient data, as well as create new liabilities for the actions of parties acting as business associates on our behalf. These laws and regulations are extremely complex, and, in many cases, we do not have the benefit of regulatory or judicial interpretation. In the future, it is possible that different interpretations or enforcement of these laws and regulations could subject our current or past practices to allegations of impropriety or illegality or could require us to make changes in our facilities, equipment, personnel, services, capital expenditure programs and operating expenses. A determination that we have violated one or more of these laws, or the public announcement that we are being investigated for possible violations of one or more of these laws, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations and our business reputation could suffer significantly. In addition, we cannot predict whether other legislation or regulations at the federal or state level will be adopted, what form such legislation or regulations may take or what their impact on us may be. If we are deemed to have failed to comply with the anti-kickback statute, the Stark Law or other applicable laws and regulations, we could be subjected to liabilities, including criminal penalties, civil penalties (including the loss of our licenses to operate one or more facilities), and exclusion of one or more facilities from participation in the Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal and state healthcare programs. The imposition of such penalties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. 25 We are subject to occupational health, safety and other similar regulations and failure to comply with such regulations could harm our business and results of operations. We are subject to a wide variety of federal, state, and local occupational health and safety laws and regulations. Regulatory requirements affecting us include, but are not limited to, those covering: (i) air and water quality control; (ii) occupational health and safety (e.g., standards regarding blood-borne pathogens and ergonomics, etc.); (iii) waste management; (iv) the handling of asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, and radioactive substances; and (v) other hazardous materials. If we fail to comply with those standards, we may be subject to sanctions and penalties that could harm our business and results of operations. We may be required to spend substantial amounts to comply with statutes and regulations relating to privacy and security of protected health information. There are currently numerous legislative and regulatory initiatives in the U.S. addressing patient privacy and information security concerns. In particular, federal regulations issued under HIPAA require our facilities to comply with standards to protect the privacy, security and integrity of protected health information, or PHI. These requirements include the adoption of certain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards; development of adequate policies and procedures, training programs and other initiatives to ensure the privacy of PHI is maintained; entry into appropriate agreements with so-called business associates; and affording patients certain rights with respect to their PHI, including notification of any breaches. Compliance with these regulations requires substantial expenditures, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition, or results of operations. In addition, our management has spent, and may spend in the future, substantial time, and effort on compliance measures. Violations of the privacy and security regulations could subject our operations to substantial civil monetary penalties and substantial other costs and penalties associated with a breach of data security, including criminal penalties. We may also be subject to substantial reputational harm if we experience a substantial security breach involving PHI. State efforts to regulate the construction or expansion of healthcare facilities could impair our ability to expand. Many states, including Florida, have enacted certificates of need, or CON, laws as a condition prior to capital expenditures, construction, expansion, modernization, or initiation of major new services. Failure to obtain necessary state approval can result in our inability to complete an acquisition, expansion or replacement, the imposition of civil or, in some cases, criminal sanctions, the inability to receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement or the revocation of a facility’s license, which could harm our business. In addition, significant CON reforms have been proposed in a number of states that would increase the capital spending thresholds and provide exemptions of various services from review requirements. In the past, we have not experienced any material adverse effects from those requirements, but we cannot predict the impact of these changes upon our operations. A cyber security incident could cause a violation of HIPAA, breach of member privacy, or other negative impacts. We rely extensively on our information technology, or IT, systems to manage clinical and financial data, communicate with our patients, payers, vendors and other third parties and summarize and analyze operating results. In addition, we have made significant investments in technology to adopt and utilize electronic health records and to become meaningful users of health information technology pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Our IT systems are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, facility damage, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, security breaches including credit card or personally identifiable information breaches, vandalism, theft, natural disasters, catastrophic events, human error and potential cyber threats, including malicious codes, worms, phishing attacks, denial of service attacks, ransomware and other sophisticated cyber-attacks, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. As cyber criminals continue to become more sophisticated through evolution of their tactics, techniques, and procedures, we have taken, and will continue to take, additional preventive measures to strengthen the cyber defenses of our networks and data. However, if any of our systems are damaged, fail to function properly or otherwise become unavailable, we may incur substantial costs to repair or replace them, and may experience loss or corruption of critical data such as protected health information or other data subject to privacy laws and proprietary business information and interruptions or disruptions and delays in our ability to perform critical functions, which could materially and adversely affect our businesses and results of operations and could result in significant penalties or fines, litigation, loss of customers, significant damage to our reputation and business, and other losses. In addition, our future results of operations, as well as our reputation, could be adversely impacted by theft, destruction, loss, or misappropriation of public health information, other confidential data, or proprietary business information. 26 We may fail to deal with clinical waste in accordance with applicable regulations or otherwise be in breach of relevant medical, health and safety or environmental laws and regulations. As part of our normal business activities, we produce and store clinical waste which may produce effects that are harmful to the environment or human health. The storage and transportation of such waste is strictly regulated. Our waste disposal services are outsourced and should the relevant service provider fail to comply with relevant regulations, we could face sanctions or fines which could adversely affect our brand, reputation, business, or financial condition. Health and safety risks are inherent in the services that we provide and are constantly present in our facilities, primarily in respect of food and water quality, as well as fire safety and the risk that service users may cause harm to themselves, other service users or employees. From time to time, we have experienced, like other providers of similar services, undesirable health, and safety incidents. Some of our activities are particularly exposed to significant medical risks relating to the transmission of infections or the prescription and administration of drugs for residents and patients. If any of the above medical or health and safety risks were to materialize, we may be held liable, fined and any registration certificate could be suspended or withdrawn for failure to comply with applicable regulations, which may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If any of our existing healthcare facilities lose their accreditation or any of our new facilities fail to receive accreditation, such facilities could become ineligible to receive reimbursement under Medicare or Medicaid. The construction and operation of healthcare facilities are subject to extensive federal, state, and local regulation relating to, among other things, the adequacy of medical care, equipment, personnel, operating policies and procedures, fire prevention, rate-setting and compliance with building codes and environmental protection. Additionally, such facilities are subject to periodic inspection by government authorities to assure their continued compliance with these various standards. All of our healthcare facilities are deemed certified, meaning that they are accredited, properly licensed under the relevant state laws and regulations and certified under the Medicare program. The effect of maintaining certified facilities is to allow such facilities to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. We believe that all of our healthcare facilities are in material compliance with applicable federal, state, local and other relevant regulations, and standards. However, should any of our healthcare facilities lose their deemed certified status and thereby lose certification under the Medicare or Medicaid programs, such facilities would be unable to receive reimbursement from either of those programs and our business could be materially adversely effected. We could be subject to lawsuits which could harm the value of our business, including litigation for which we are not fully reserved. From time-to-time we are involved in lawsuits, claims, audits, and investigations, including those arising out of services provided, personal injury claims, professional liability claims, billing and marketing practices, employment disputes and contractual claims. Physicians, hospitals, and other participants in healthcare delivery have become subject to an increasing number of lawsuits alleging medical malpractice and related legal theories such as negligent hiring, supervision and credentialing. Some of these lawsuits may involve large claim amounts and substantial defense costs. We generally procure professional liability insurance coverage for our medical professionals. A substantial portion of our professional liability loss risks are provided by third-party insurers. Moreover, in the normal course of our business, we are involved in lawsuits, claims, audits, and investigations, including those arising out of our billing and marketing practices, employment disputes, contractual claims and other business disputes for which we may have no insurance coverage, and which are not subject to actuarial estimates. The outcome of these matters could have a material effect on our results of operations in the period when we identify the matter, and the ultimate outcome could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. 27 We may become subject to future lawsuits, claims, audits, and investigations that could result in substantial costs and divert our attention and resources and adversely affect our business condition. In addition, since our current growth strategy includes acquisitions, among other things, we may become exposed to legal claims for the activities of an acquired business prior to the acquisition. These lawsuits, claims, audits, or investigations, regardless of their merit or outcome, may also adversely affect our reputation and ability to expand our business. Risks Related to our Real Estate Business We are subject to demand fluctuations in the real estate industry. Any reduction in demand could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Demand for properties similar to that owned by us is subject to fluctuations that are often due to factors outside our control. We are not able to predict the course of the real estate markets or whether the current favorable trends in those markets can, or will, continue. In the event of an economic downturn, our results of operations may be adversely affected, and we may incur significant impairments and other write-offs and substantial losses from this business. Adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, and other unforeseen and/or unplanned conditions could have serious impacts on our ability to develop and market or sell our real estate asset. Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, and fires, could have serious impacts on our ability to develop and market or sell our real estate asset. Our property may also be affected by unforeseen planning, engineering, environmental, or geological conditions or problems, including conditions or problems which arise on third party properties adjacent to or in the vicinity of the property we own, and which may result in unfavorable impacts on our property. Any adverse event or circumstance could cause a delay in, prevent the completion of, or increase the cost of, the development or sale of our property, thereby resulting in a negative impact on our operations and financial results.. If the market value of our real estate investment decreases, our results of operations will also likely decrease. The market value of our real estate asset will depend on market conditions. If local and/or global economic conditions deteriorate, or if the demand for our property decreases, we may not be able to make a profit on such property. As a result of declining economic conditions, we may experience lower than anticipated profits and/or may not be able to recover our costs. Changes in tax laws, taxes or fees may increase the cost of development or sale of our property. Any increase or change in tax laws, taxes, or fees, including real estate property taxes, could increase the cost of development and thus have an adverse effect on our operations. Such changes could also negatively impact potential and/or actual users and purchasers of our property because potential buyers may factor such changes into their decisions to utilize or purchase a property. We may incur environmental liabilities with respect to our real estate asset. Our property is subject to a variety of local, state, and federal statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations concerning the protection of health and the environment. Environmental laws may result in delays, may cause us to incur substantial compliance and other costs and may prohibit or severely restrict development. Furthermore, under various federal, state, and local laws, ordinances and regulations, an owner of real property may be liable for the costs or removal or remediation of certain hazardous or toxic substances on or in such property. Such laws often impose such liability without regard to whether we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. The cost of any required remediation and our liability therefor as to our property are generally not limited under such laws and could exceed the value of the property and/or the aggregate assets of our company. The presence of such substances, or the failure to properly remediate contamination from such substances, may adversely affect our ability to sell real estate or to borrow using such property as collateral. 28 Uninsured losses relating to real property or excessively expensive premiums for insurance coverage may adversely affect the value of your stock. The nature of our activities could expose us to potential liability for personal injuries and, in certain instances, property damage claims. For instance, there are types of losses, generally catastrophic in nature, such as losses due to wars, acts of terrorism, earthquakes, pollution, environmental matters, or extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes, floods, and snowstorms that are uninsurable or not economically insurable, or may be insured subject to limitations, such as large deductibles or co-payments. We may not carry all the usual and customary insurance policies which would be carried by a similarly-positioned company, and we may not be carrying those insurance policies in amounts and types sufficient to cover every risk which may be encountered by our company. Insurance risks associated with potential terrorist acts could sharply increase the premiums we will pay for coverage against property and casualty claims. We cannot assure you that we will have adequate coverage for all losses. If any of our property incurs a casualty loss that is not fully covered by insurance, the value of our assets will be reduced by the amount of any such uninsured loss. In addition, other than the capital reserve or other reserves we may establish, we do not expect to have any contingent sources of funding in place to repair or reconstruct any uninsured damaged property, and we cannot assure you that any such sources of funding will be available to us for such purposes in the future. Also, to the extent we must pay unexpectedly large amounts for insurance, we could suffer reduced earnings that would result in a decreased value attributed to our publicly traded stock. Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock Our common stock is eligible for quotation on the OTCQB Market, which may have an unfavorable impact on our stock price and liquidity. Our common stock is eligible for quotation on the OTCQB Market operated by OTC Markets Group Inc. The OTCQB Market is a regulated quotation service that displays real-time quotes, last sale prices and volume information in over-the-counter securities. The OTCQB Market is not an issuer listing service, market, or exchange. The requirements for quotation on the Pink Market are considerably lower and less regulated than those of an exchange. Because of this, it is possible that fewer brokers or dealers will be interested in making a market in our common stock because the market for such securities is more limited, the stocks are more volatile, and the risk to investors is greater, which may impact the liquidity of our common stock. Even if an active market begins to develop in our common stock, the quotation of our common stock on the OTCQB Market may result in a less liquid market available for existing and potential stockholders to trade common stock, could depress the trading price of our common stock and could have a long-term adverse impact on our ability to raise capital in the future. If an active market is never developed for our common stock, it will be difficult or impossible for you to sell any common stock you purchase. The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The market for our common stock may be characterized by significant price volatility when compared to the shares of larger, more established companies that have large public floats, and we expect that our stock price will be more volatile than the shares of such larger, more established companies for the indefinite future, which volatility may be unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our common stock. The market price of our common stock is likely to be volatile due to a number of factors. First, as noted above, our common stock is likely to be more sporadically and thinly traded compared to the shares of such larger, more established companies. The price for our common stock could, for example, decline precipitously in the event that a large number of shares is sold on the market without commensurate demand. Secondly, we are a speculative or “risky” investment due to our lack of profits. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-adverse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the stock of a larger, more established company that has a large public float. Many of these factors are beyond our control and may decrease the market price of our common stock regardless of our operating performance. The market price of our common stock could also be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a broad and diverse range of factors, including the following: · actual or anticipated variations in our periodic operating results; · increases in market interest rates that lead investors of our common stock to demand a higher investment return; 29 · changes in earnings estimates; · changes in market valuations of similar companies; · actions or announcements by our competitors; · adverse market reaction to any increased indebtedness we may incur in the future; · additions or departures of key personnel; · actions by stockholders; and · speculation in the media, online forums, or investment community. Two stockholders own a significant percentage of our outstanding voting securities which could reduce the ability of minority stockholders to effect certain corporate actions. Two stockholders, including our Chief Executive Officer and our former Chairman, are collectively able to exercise approximately 74% of our total voting power. As a result, they will possess significant influence and can elect a majority of our board of directors and authorize or prevent proposed significant corporate transactions without the votes of any other stockholders. They are expected to have significant influence over decisions to enter into corporate transactions and have the ability to prevent any transaction that requires the approval of stockholders, regardless of whether or not our other stockholders believe that such transaction is in our best interests. Such concentration of voting power could have the effect of delaying, deterring, or preventing a change of control or other business combination, which could, in turn, have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock or prevent our stockholder from realizing a premium over the then-prevailing market price for their common stock. We have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, and you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it. We may retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and have no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our common stock unless you sell our common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it and any potential investor who anticipates the need for current dividends should not purchase our securities. Future issuances of our common stock or securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, our common stock could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and would result in the dilution of your holdings. Future issuances of our common stock or securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, our common stock, could result in significant market volatility and could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. We cannot predict the effect, if any, of future issuances of our securities on the price of our common stock. In all events, future issuances of our common stock would result in the dilution of your holdings. In addition, the perception that new issuances of our securities could occur could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. 30 Rule 144 sales in the future may have a depressive effect on our stock price. All of the outstanding common stock held by the present officers, directors, and affiliate stockholders are “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. As restricted shares, these shares may be resold only pursuant to an effective registration statement or under the requirements of Rule 144 or other applicable exemptions from registration under the Securities Act and as required under applicable state securities laws. Rule 144 provides in essence that a person who is an affiliate or officer or director who has held restricted securities for six months may, under certain conditions, sell every three months, in brokerage transactions, a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of 1.0% of a company’s outstanding common shares. There is no limitation on the amount of restricted securities that may be sold by a non-affiliate after the owner has held the restricted securities for a period of six months if our company is a current, reporting company under the Exchange Act. A sale under Rule 144 or under any other exemption from the Securities Act, if available, or pursuant to subsequent registration of common stock of present stockholders, may have a depressive effect upon the price of our common stock in any market that may develop. Future issuances of debt securities, which would rank senior to our common stock upon our bankruptcy or liquidation, and future issuances of preferred stock, which could rank senior to our common stock for the purposes of dividends and liquidating distributions, may adversely affect the level of return you may be able to achieve from an investment in our common stock. In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by offering debt securities. Upon bankruptcy or liquidation, holders of our debt securities, and lenders with respect to other borrowings we may make, would receive distributions of our available assets prior to any distributions being made to holders of our common stock. Moreover, if we issue preferred stock, the holders of such preferred stock could be entitled to preferences over holders of common stock in respect of the payment of dividends and the payment of liquidating distributions. Because our decision to issue debt or preferred stock in any future offering, or borrow money from lenders, will depend in part on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of any such future offerings or borrowings. Holders of our common stock must bear the risk that any future offerings we conduct or borrowings we make may adversely affect the level of return, if any, they may be able to achieve from an investment in our common stock. If our shares of common stock become subject to the penny stock rules, it would become more difficult to trade our shares. The SEC has adopted rules that regulate broker-dealer practices in connection with transactions in penny stocks. Penny stocks are generally equity securities with a price of less than $5.00, other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or authorized for quotation on certain automated quotation systems, provided that current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, before a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document containing specified information. In addition, the penny stock rules require that before effecting any transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, a broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive (i) the purchaser’s written acknowledgment of the receipt of a risk disclosure statement; (ii) a written agreement to transactions involving penny stocks; and (iii) a signed and dated copy of a written suitability statement. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the trading activity in the secondary market for our common stock, and therefore stockholders may have difficulty selling their shares. If securities industry analysts do not publish research reports on us, or publish unfavorable reports on us, then the market price and market trading volume of our common stock could be negatively affected. Any trading market for our common stock may be influenced in part by any research reports that securities industry analysts publish about us. We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by securities industry analysts. If no securities industry analysts commence coverage of us, the market price and market trading volume of our common stock could be negatively affected. In the event we are covered by analysts, and one or more of such analysts downgrade our securities, or otherwise reports on us unfavorably, or discontinues coverage of us, the market price and market trading volume of our common stock could be negatively affected. 31 We are subject to ongoing public reporting requirements that are less rigorous than for larger, more established companies, which could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies. We are a “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Exchange Act. Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act defines a “smaller reporting company” as an issuer that is not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent that is not a smaller reporting company and that had (i) a public float of less than $250 million or (ii) annual revenues of less than $100 million and either had no public float or a public float of less than $700 million. As a smaller reporting company, we will not be required to, and may not, include a compensation discussion and analysis section in our proxy statements and we will provide only two years of financial statements. We also will have other “scaled” disclosure requirements that are less comprehensive than issuers that are not smaller reporting companies. Because we will be subject to ongoing public reporting requirements that are less rigorous than Exchange Act rules for companies that are not smaller reporting companies, our stockholders could receive less information than they might expect to receive from more mature public companies. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we elect to rely on these exemptions, or if taking advantage of these exemptions would result in less active trading or more volatility in the price of our common stock. Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Nevada law could make an acquisition of our company more difficult, and limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management. Provisions in our amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company or changes in our management. As described above, our executive officers and directors are collectively able to exercise a significant portion of our voting power. Furthermore, neither the holders of our common stock nor the holders of our preferred stock have cumulative voting rights in the election of our directors. The combination of the present ownership by our management of a significant portion of our issued and outstanding voting power and lack of cumulative voting makes it more difficult for other stockholders to replace our board of directors or for a third party to obtain control of our company by replacing its board of directors. In addition, our authorized but unissued shares of common stock are available for our board of directors to issue without stockholder approval. We may use these additional shares for a variety of corporate purposes, including raising additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee stock plans. The existence of our authorized but unissued shares of common stock could render it more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of our company by means of a proxy context, tender offer, merger or other transaction since our board of directors can issue large amounts of capital stock as part of a defense to a take-over challenge. In addition, we have authorized in our amended and restated articles of incorporation 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Our board acting alone and without approval of our stockholders can designate and issue one or more series of preferred stock containing super-voting provisions, enhanced economic rights, rights to elect directors, or other dilutive features, that could be utilized as part of a defense to a take-over challenge. In addition, various provisions of our amended and restated bylaws may also have an anti-takeover effect. These provisions may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt of our company that a stockholder might consider in his or her best interest, including attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares held by our stockholders. Our amended and restated bylaws may be adopted, amended or repealed only by our board of directors. Our amended and restated bylaws also contain limitations as to who may call special meetings as well as require advance notice of stockholder matters to be brought at a meeting. Additionally, our amended and restated bylaws also provide that no director may be removed by less than a two-thirds vote of the issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote on the removal. Our amended and restated bylaws also permit the board of directors to establish the number of directors and fill any vacancies and newly created directorships. These provisions will prevent a stockholder from increasing the size of our board of directors and gaining control of our board of directors by filling the resulting vacancies with its own nominees. 32 Our amended and restated bylaws also establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting will only be able to consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given us timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholders’ intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although our amended and restated bylaws do not give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, our amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company. These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. An investment in our company may involve tax implications, and you are encouraged to consult your own advisors as neither we nor any related party is offering any tax assurances or guidance regarding our company or your investment. An investment in our company generally involves complex federal, state and local income tax considerations. Neither the Internal Revenue Service nor any State or local taxing authority has reviewed the transactions described herein and may take different positions than the ones contemplated by management. You are strongly urged to consult your own tax and other advisors prior to investing, as neither we nor any of our officers, directors or related parties is offering you tax or similar advice, nor are any such persons making any representations and warrants regarding such matters. Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. We will be subject to income taxes in the United States, and our domestic tax liabilities will be subject to the allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including: · changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities; · expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowances; · tax effects of stock-based compensation; · costs related to intercompany restructurings; or · changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof. In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by federal, state and local authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. 33