President Of Hair Testing Company Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Over 88,000 Customers In Testing Scam

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the guilty plea of KYLE TSUI in connection with a fraud scheme that resulted in sales of approximately $5.9 million worth of fabricated allergy and sensitivity tests to tens of thousands of customers.  TSUI pled guilty to wire fraud and mail fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy, following his extradition from Spain in November 2023.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “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.  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.  Tsui now faces prison time for his brazen scam.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, the defendant’s statements when pleading guilty, and statements made in related court filings and proceedings:

From September 2018 through April 2019, TSUI orchestrated a scheme to defraud customers of his company, the “Allergy Testing Company,” by purporting to sell food and environmental sensitivity testing services that TSUI knew were not, in fact, being performed.  In total, TSUI sold fabricated tests worth approximately $5.9 million to more than 88,000 victims through an online marketplace. 

TSUI’s company promoted its “[h]ighly-rated, top selling sensitivity and intolerance test” that “determines how your body responds to 800 different food and environmental items” with just “a small hair sample.”  But rather than actually test the hair samples as customers were promised, TSUI directed that the hair samples be discarded in the trash without any laboratory analysis.  Customers then received fabricated test results purporting to identify certain foods and environmental factors that were “safe” for them and others that the customers were supposedly “sensitive” to and should avoid.       

KYLE TSUI, 41, of Ontario, Canada, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  TSUI also agreed to pay forfeiture in the amount of $4,165,884.70.  

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.  TSUI’s sentencing is scheduled for May 30, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Hyde Park Police Department, the New York State Troopers, the Toronto Police Service, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for their assistance in the investigation, as well as the Government of Spain for working with U.S. authorities to arrest and extradite TSUI to the United States.

If you believe you are a victim of the Allergy Testing Company fraud, updated information regarding the case and victims’ rights, as well as contact information for the victim witness coordinator, is available here.