E. Virgil Neal: Hypnotist, Fraudster, Tycoon, Part 2

E. Virgil Neal, a man once infamous for running the fraudulent Force of Life company that sold radium-free 'life ray' capsules and other pseudoscientific treatments, managed to reinvent himself as a respected cosmetics tycoon through sheer audacity and strategic rebranding. After the collapse of his mail fraud scheme in 1906, Neal didn’t vanish—he pivoted. He founded Tuchelon Manufacturing Company, a beauty brand that leveraged fake testimonials, fictitious aristocrats like the Countess de Kergamo, and a carefully constructed European identity to appear legitimate. By shifting his operations to France and distancing himself from his past, Neal transformed Tuchelon into an international luxury brand, even securing a private audience with Pope Pius X. His ability to erase his past—rewriting his biography, divorcing his first wife, marrying younger women, and relocating to Europe—allowed him to become a wealthy, respected figure in high society. Despite ongoing allegations of fraud during World War I and suspicions of collaboration with the enemy during WWII, Neal’s empire endured. His legacy was not only preserved but sanitized: Time magazine in 1933 portrayed him as a wholesome Midwestern success story, and his obituary in Sedalia omitted all scandal. Tuchelon survived him, eventually becoming part of Cooper Cosmetics, while his son Zen rejected his inheritance and distanced himself from the family name.