Toronto man charged after selling fake coronavirus home testing kits

A Toronto man faces fraud charges after allegedly selling fake at-home coronavirus testing kits in Canada and the United States.

According to Toronto police, U.S. Homeland Security officials contacted them on Wednesday to notify them about a package they intercepted at the border. The package had 25 testing kits in it that said they could detect coronavirus.

Police found evidence of many other packages after contacting Canada Post. They all contained fake testing kits shipped from Toronto according to CTV News.

On Thursday, the financial crimes unit of the Toronto Police Service searched a home around Cosburn and Pape Avenue and found the man thought to be responsible for the kits.

Meaghan Gray, a spokesperson for Toronto police noted that the suspect was selling kits for $10 each along with masks for $20 each. The quality of the masks is unknown.

A 43-year-old man named Jesse Wong received a charge of fraud under $5,000 along with possession of a forgery device.

Wong is expected to show up at College Park courts for May 28.

Canadian public health officials are warning that all at-home kits for diagnosing coronavirus are fake as there has not yet been a home testing kit developed by a health agency for widespread use.

In a statement, the FDA warned against fraudulent kits: "The FDA is particularly concerned that these deceptive and misleading products might cause Americans to delay or stop appropriate medical treatment, leading to serious and life-threatening harm. It’s likely that the products do not do what they claim, and the ingredients in them could cause adverse effects and could interact with, and potentially interfere with, essential medications."

"The FDA has also seen unauthorized fraudulent test kits for COVID-19 being sold online. Currently, the only way to be tested for COVID-19 is to talk to your health care provider. The FDA has not authorized any test that is available to purchase for testing yourself at home for COVID-19."