LV firms sued over sale of anthrax detection kits

David Strow

Monday, Dec. 17, 2001 | 10:54 a.m.

The Illinois Attorney General's office has filed fraud lawsuits against two Las Vegas companies, claiming they've been marketing bogus anthrax detection devices over the Internet.

Named in the Illinois state lawsuit were Gateway Distributors Ltd. and its subsidiary, TRSG Corp., which does business as the Right Solution. The stocks of both firms trade publicly on the small-company over-the-counter market.

Also named was local resident Jeff Anderson, who does business as Early Detection Services. All three were charged with violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, after Illinois officials bought products from both companies in an undercover operation.

"It is unconscionable that these companies are capitalizing on people's fears about anthrax," said Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan in a statement. "Their deception may be a threat to public health because these products don't work and could give consumers a false sense of security."

Officials with the three companies could not be reached for comment this morning.

The Right Solution is a network marketing company that sells nutritional and skin care products. The product sold by the company is called a "Biological Agent Detection Product." In an October press release, the company called it a "hand-held, low-cost device used to detect the presence of biological agents such as (anthrax) as well as many other biological agents" through the use of ultraviolet light. The product is sold for $50 to $100.

A quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission said the company claims to have sold more than 15,000 of the devices for $50 each within a week of its introduction. However, the company's website no longer markets any such product.

The Illinois attorney general's office called the product little more than "a cheap looking flashlight-like device that appears to contain a black lightbulb."

"According to health officials, anthrax and most bacteria and viruses do not glow under ultraviolet light, so the product is useless," the attorney general's office said.

In its press releases, the company acknowledged it had no proof the device could detect anthrax or any other biological agent, but said "independent research facilities" were conducting research.

The second product, marketed by Anderson through Early Detection Services, is sold as a nasal swab test for anthrax. For a fee of $150, the consumer can take the test at home and have it sent to a laboratory for testing, the Illinois attorney general's office said.

The Illinois attorney general did not claim the test didn't work, but said the Centers for Disease Control doesn't recommend the use of nasal swab tests to determine if a person has contracted anthrax. A person can have anthrax spores in their lungs and still test negative with a nasal swab test, the Illinois attorney general's office claimed.

Early Detection Service's website, www.anthrax-test.com, was not functioning this morning.

Nevada officials couldn't be reached for comment this morning on whether the companies have had run-ins with Nevada regulators.