TOLEDO, Ohio — Update: Fong was arraigned in Lucas County Court of Common Pleas on Thursday, Aug. 8. Fong was released on supervised OR bond and was ordered to not have contact with three separate alleged victims. He is due back in court on Sept. 6.
The original story is below:
A Lucas County grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Toledo man accused of inappropriately touching women while posing as a licensed massage therapist.
Thomas Fong, 68, was indicted on three fifth-degree felony charges of practicing medicine without license or certificate and two third-degree misdemeanor charges of sexual imposition.
According to the State Medical Board of Ohio, Fong has not been licensed in the state for 20 years.
The charges stem from incidents that allegedly took place at two different businesses in Lucas County.
Police reports from the Ottawa Hills Police Department detail the case in several interviews police conducted with Fong and alleged victims. Two women told police Fong inappropriately touched their breasts and pubic areas for extended periods of time during massages. In addition, a business owner who rented space to Fong says he misrepresented himself to her as a licensed massage therapist.
Three victims are listed on a police report. Each was interviewed in detail by investigators after "Victim 1" reported being sexually assaulted by Fong on June 1, 2023, at 3D Wellness Comprehensive Massage and Movement Center on Central Ave. in Ottawa Hills.
The owner of 3D Wellness, Joani Donovan, told police she has one employee and rents spaces out to two others, including Fong, an independent contractor.
Victim 1, who owns a med spa, told police she was seeking help for neck pain stemming from a car accident years ago. She says her friend, Joani Donovan, sent her test results and images to Fong, who then booked her an appointment on June 3. Prior to that appointment, over text messages, Fong asked Victim 1 "if they could meet sooner at her office," she told police in an interview. She agreed to meet with him on May 26.
During that visit, Victim 1 said Fong performed a lymphatic drainage massage on her breasts. She said he told her that her pain was emotional pain, not physical pain and paid "a lot of attention" to her breasts. She told police she "felt exposed" during the massage and left feeling unsure about the way the session had gone. Donovan vouched for Fong after Victim 1 reached out to her expressing concerns about Fong, Victim 1 told police.
Victim 1 booked another session with Fong for May 29. During this session, she said Fong was more professional, but spent more time on her breasts. He also asked her to remove her underwear and worked on her groin but was better at keeping her covered.
The final appointment was at Fong's office at 3D Wellness on June 1, where victim 1 says Fong was immediately more aggressive and "pushed the envelope." She said he once again asked her to remove her underwear and situated the sheet "very low." He then began "playing with and messing with the nipple." Fong informed her she would be getting 90 minutes of lymphatic drainage and 90 minutes of massage. At the conclusion of the session, Victim 1 said Fong touched his cheek to hers, kissed her cheek and said "thanks for sharing your story." She told police she left upset and texted Donovan about the incident. Donovan then reported the incident to police.
Victim 1 told police she and Donovan were friends of 20 years, and she had been receiving massages from Donovan for the same length of time. She said Donovan never concentrated on her breasts like Fong had.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, massage therapists use lymphatic drainage massages to relieve pain in arms and legs caused by the swelling of lymph nodes, also known as lymphedema.
Victim 2 said she had developed a platonic friendship with Fong through seeing him for massage appointments every three to four weeks for 12 years at 3D Wellness and a previous location he had worked at -- La Luna Salon & Day Spa in Sylvania.
"[Fong] has been a friend and has taken photos of events at my home," she told police during an interview on June 7. "Graduation party, symphony gathering, that is his hobby."
He had gotten increasingly closer to her pubic region over her last several appointments with him. During her last couple of appointments, she told police Fong "was getting a little too close for comfort."
Victim 2 was surprised to learn Fong was not licensed for the entire time she had been seeing him.
While Fong charged these women hundreds of dollars for hours of relaxation massage, reiki and lymphatic massage, he told police he also offered his services to cancer patients at The Victory Center.
Ottawa Hills Police detectives documented that they informed the executive director of The Victory Center, Dianne Barndt, that Fong did not hold a license with the state of Ohio. On Friday, Barndt provided WTOL 11 with the following statement:
"I can confirm that Tom Fong was a contract employee for The Victory Center where he only provided reiki services, which is a hands-off modality. We were shocked when we learned of the allegations against Mr. Fong and immediately took action to end his employment with The Victory Center pending the outcome of the investigation. The safety and well-being of the cancer patients we serve is always of the utmost importance."
There are no reports of Fong doing anything inappropriate at The Victory Center.
WTOL 11 also reached out to the Ohio Medical Board, which was present for the victim interviews with Ottawa Hills police.
"Thomas Fong does not have an active license and in fact has not been licensed with the Medical Board since 2003. In situations where we become aware of unlicensed practice, we will make referrals to law enforcement and assist where needed," said Joel Whetstone, the deputy director of operations for the State Medical Board of Ohio.
Fong received his license in 2001.
Donovan told police she had known Fong "for years" and that he introduced himself to her as a licensed therapist in the mid-2000s. She allowed him to use one of her rental spaces at 3D Wellness beginning in the summer of 2022, and he paid in cash. He did not hang his license on the wall in his office, like Donovan said her and 3D Wellness staff did. She said she had no file on Fong, and that the only instance she had ever referred him to a client was when she did not have an opening for Victim 1.
Donovan also rebuked how Fong allegedly did the massages, saying that there "is no reason to go on top of the breast or nipple" and that a client should not be naked for a massage without being properly covered by sheets or towels.
Fong admitted to police a lapse in judgment for doing more than needed on breasts. He also said he let his license lapse and did not want to go back to school to get his license due to time and money, but continued to practice as though he was licensed. He showed clients a business card that misrepresented him as a licensed therapist.
"I am not making excuses for it I take what ever consequences the state board [sic] but I plain forgot," Fong said of renewing his license, according to the police report.
In the police report, Fong repeatedly claims that his conduct in the massages was not for sexual gratification, but because he was "just trying to help them." But, he admitted to police that he did in the June 1 appointment with Victim 1, he put his cheek to hers, kissed her cheek and thanked her for sharing her story.
Fong also said he's massaged children as young as 8 to 10 years old for sports injuries, but their mothers were always in the room.
No children are listed as victims in the complaints.
Licenses of medical professionals can be looked up here.