Man had hair samples trashed, sent fake results in $5.9M allergy test scam, feds say
A company sold $5.9 million worth of allergy tests to thousands of customers who were defrauded after they sent samples of their hair for testing, federal prosecutors said.
Instead of testing the customers’ hair samples as promised, the company’s owner, Kyle Tsui, had the samples tossed in the trash, according to a Jan. 23 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The customers then received fake test results and were misled about hundreds of food and environmental allergens they were potentially allergic to, prosecutors said.
The false results told customers certain allergens were “safe” and that they were “sensitive” to others, according to prosecutors.
Now, Tsui, 41, of Ontario, Canada has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and mail fraud in connection with the scam, the attorney’s office announced.
“As he has now admitted, Kyle Tsui defrauded tens of thousands of innocent victims, whose health was put at risk with false allergy and sensitivity testing results,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
“Tsui’s company advertised ‘highly-rated’ allergy and sensitivity testing services but didn’t even attempt to test the samples his paying customers sent in, instead directing others to throw the samples in the garbage,” Williams added.
Tsui has agreed to pay a forfeiture amount of $4,165,884.70, prosecutors said.
He was extradited from Spain in November 2023, when prosecutors unsealed his indictment, according to the attorney’s office.
Jeffrey Lichtman, his defense attorney, told McClatchy News in a statement on Jan. 24 that Tsui “indicated a desire to plead guilty from the moment” he “first spoke to him when he was imprisoned in Spain.”
“Along with his immediate acceptance of responsibility, which occurred even before his indictment was unsealed in America, he expects to make all of his victims financially whole before sentencing,” Lichtman said.
Tsui is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30, according to prosecutors.
He faces up to 20 years in prison for the count of wire fraud and up to 20 years in prison for the count of mail fraud, prosecutors said.
Thousands of customers mailed hair samples every week
Tsui’s business, “Allergy Testing Company,” advertised the allergy test kits as a “(h)ighly-rated, top selling sensitivity and intolerance test” that “determines how your body responds to 800 different food and environmental items” with “a small hair sample,” according to prosecutors.
The company made $5.9 million by selling the tests between September 2018 and April 2019, according to a complaint filed in court. More than 88,000 customers were scammed, prosecutors said.
Most of the sales profit, 80%, went directly to Tsui’s company and into his bank account, the complaint says.
The scheme caused customers to mail in their hair samples to Tsui’s address at a shipping facility in Hyde Park, New York, about 95 miles north of New York City, according to the complaint.
From September 2018 through February 2019, the facility received about 4,500 pieces of mail each week, the complaint says.
During this time, Tsui had shipping facility personnel open the mail and throw out the hair samples, according to the complaint.
People who believe they may have been defrauded with the allergy test scam are encouraged to visit this Department of Justice’s web page about the case here.
This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Man had hair samples trashed, sent fake results in $5.9M allergy test scam, feds say."
.jpg)