Auckland nail salon owners accused of $205k in wage breaches

Monday, 12 January 2026

Three people linked to a string of Auckland nail salons have had their assets frozen, while two of them temporarily left the country, after complaints from former employees over “serious breaches” related to minimum pay, holiday pay and wage protection.

In May 2024, the Labour Inspector filed proceedings in the Employment Court against two companies, KH68 Trading Ltd and ALEX89 Ltd, and three individuals, Thom Dao, Viet Hung Nguyen and Duong Alex Nguyen.

Company records show Dao had a 100% shareholding in KH68 Trading and ALEX89 Ltd, and was sole director of both. However, the trio were linked via shareholdings in other businesses. Dao and Viet Hung Nguyen are also married.

After attending directed mediation, the two companies were put into voluntary liquidation and it was subsequently discovered that four businesses attached to those companies - nail salons Professionail Henderson, Deluxe Nail and Spa Glenfield, Professionail Glenfield and Professionail New Lynn - had been sold.

The first liquidator’s reports for both KH68 and ALEX89 showed that, in addition to the money owed to employees, over $1 million was owed to Inland Revenue in unpaid taxes.

But it was Dao who put the companies into liquidation himself in March last year, almost a year after the Labour Inspector first filed proceedings.

An Employment Court judgment in April 2025 said the salon businesses appeared to have been sold “for a value below their real value, and/or they may have been on-sold to family or friends ‘on paper’ and could be operated by another legal entity with the first and second respondents remaining as the owners”.

The judgment continued: “There remain queries as to the terms of those sales.”

A freezing order was then sought against the three individuals, court documents show. A freezing order prevents someone from disposing of assets that would impact a legal claim, such as a property.

Five vehicles were also sold during the mediation period, court documents show, and in January, Dao and Hung Nguyen left the country. They had not returned at the time of the initial hearing.

The court was told that the decision to sell the businesses and vehicles was made without informing the Labour Inspector, but after the initial investigation was launched.

The Labour Inspector was prompted to carry out its investigation into the three individuals and their businesses after complaints were made by two employees.

The investigation found breaches of the Minimum Wage Act 1983, the Holidays Act 2003, the Wages Protection Act 1983, and determined that the two affected employees were owed more than $205,000 in arrears.

While Dao and Nguyen were out of the country during the initial hearing, Immigration NZ confirmed to The Post that both returned to New Zealand at some point since.

However, attempts to speak to them have been unsuccessful. The Post visited Dao and Nguyen’s North Shore residence earlier this month, but were told by the pair’s son that they would not comment.

“We’re not open to that,” the son said.

Several cars were parked in the driveway, including a 2023 Chevrolet sportscar with a personalised number plate, VFLAME, that appears linked to a Sylvia Park hospitality business (one of the bank accounts frozen by the court was for a business called Vietflames Ltd).

A similar but slightly older Chevrolet is currently listed on Trade Me with an asking price of $194,990.

The Post contacted all four nail salons previously linked to the couple. While two responded, neither were aware of the court proceedings against the former owners.

“I don’t know anything … I think they were the owner before but now there’s a different one,” said the manager of Professionail New Lynn.

The April judgment stated that the three respondents owned “significant assets”, including eight properties. The Labour Inspector believed there was a “real risk”, given the businesses and vehicles that had been sold, that they could choose to sell off additional assets in an effort to move them “out of reach should judgment be issued against them”.

Property records show that Dao and Viet Hung Nguyen together own three other North Shore properties, including one in the upmarket suburb of Takapuna.

In addition, Hung Nguyen co-owns properties in Henderson and Mangere. Duong Alex Nguyen owns a property in Otahuhu previously in the name of Dao and Viet Hung Nguyen.

While the original claim was against the businesses, once they went into liquidation, the Labour Inspector was now seeking to have Dao, Viet Hung Nguyen and Duong Alex Nguyen liable to pay the arrears.

It was anticipated that the three might deny the allegations, the court documents noted, though the Labour Inspector believed there was “ample” evidence that they were involved in the breaches due to their roles in the companies.

While the respondents did not provide any defence at the initial hearing in April, the issue has returned to the Employment Court several times across the year in order to extend or amend the freezing order, and to address requests to release funds for legal fees and living costs.

In October, after requests by the respondents to open up a bank account to pay a mortgage, lawyers for the Labour Inspector expressed concern at the amount of frozen assets being reduced.

On December 4, it was agreed that the existing freezing order would remain in place until December 15, with a review hearing set down for December 12. However, this hearing was vacated.

“The parties came to some agreement and postponed the hearing sine die [with no appointed date for resumption] at this stage,” a court spokesperson told The Post.

The trio’s lawyer has not responded to requests for comment.

The Labour Inspector, through an MBIE spokesperson, would not comment as the matter remains before the court.