Earl Winfrey Brian, Jr. (1942 – November 2, 2020) was an American physician and businessman who served as Director of California's Department of Health Care Services, and then as Secretary of California's Agency for Health and Welfare under Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. Following an unsuccessful run for the U. S. Senate in 1974, Brian headed several technology based firms during the 1970s and 80s. In 1991 however, Infotechnology, the

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which h ...

firm he headed, filed for bankruptcy. Brian was later charged with conspiring to cover up the firm's financial difficulties and sentenced to four years in prison.

Early career

Brian graduated from medical school at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

and served in the

Army Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

in Vietnam.

Political career in California

After leaving the service in 1970, he was appointed first as Director of California's Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), then Secretary of Health and Welfare. During his term as secretary, Brian succeeded in implementing a requirement for a $2 co-payment from

Medi-Cal The California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal or MediCal) is California's Medicaid program serving low-income individuals, including families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women, and childless adults w ...

recipients for each doctor's visit, but failed in an attempt to curtail medical benefits available under Medi-Cal when the state lost a suit brought by the California Medical Association. In 1974 Brian resigned his cabinet post and ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by Senator

Alan Cranston Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as a President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to ...

(D–CA), but lost the Republican primary.

Business and expansion

Brian then turned to business and in 1980 established his own company, Biotech Capital, a venture capital firm that invested in companies developing medical technology. Biotech later shifted its focus to news and information services, acquiring interest in the

Financial News Network The Financial News Network (FNN) was an American financial and business news television network that was launched November 30, 1981. The purpose of the network was to broadcast programming nationwide, five days a week for seven hours a day on t ...

(FNN) and changing the name Biotech in 1987 to Infotechnology. In 1988, the company acquired

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...

, one of the two major American news wire services at the time.

Conspiracy and fraud conviction

Infotechnology encountered financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy in 1991, as did FNN and UPI. In 1995, Brian was charged with conspiracy and fraud for inflating the value of FNN and UPI in an attempt to secure loans to shore up the companies. He was convicted of the conspiracy charges in 1996 and sentenced to four years in prison.

Death

Brian died on November 2, 2020, at the age of 78 in Easton, Maryland. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Dr. Earl Winfrey Brian Jr.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brian, Earl Winfrey 1942 births 2020 deaths American businesspeople convicted of crimes American people convicted of fraud Duke University School of Medicine alumni Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Stanford University School of Medicine alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery