Spa Owner Accused of Performing Thousands of Fake Botox Injections

A Massachusetts spa proprietor is successful blistery h2o for allegedly injecting her customers with counterfeit Botox and different cosmetic products. On Friday, national officials arrested and charged the 38-year-old Rebecca Fadanelli with respective counts related to the alleged swindle.

According to the charging documents made nationalist Friday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Fadanelli had been moving this alleged strategy since astatine slightest March 2021. She is accused of having imported counterfeit Botox, Sculptra, and Juvederm (the second 2 products being dermal fillers) from China and Brazil and utilizing these products successful thousands of injections crossed the 2 spa locations she owns successful Randolph and South Easton, Massachusetts.

Officials accidental that she completed implicit 1,600 Botox appointments and implicit 1,000 filler appointments with these faux products betwixt March 2021 and March 2024. Prosecutors accidental that Fadanelli was paid much than $900,000 for the injections altogether. Additionally, she is being accused of lying to customers and her employees astir her credentials, reportedly claiming that she was a caregiver erstwhile she was lone licensed arsenic an aesthetician. She besides allegedly told prosecutors that she ne'er injected customers herself, but different employees person reportedly said otherwise.

“For years, Ms. Fadanelli allegedly enactment unsuspecting patients astatine hazard by representing herself to beryllium a caregiver and past administering thousands of illegal, counterfeit injections,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy successful a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. “The benignant of deception alleged present is illegal, reckless and perchance life-threatening.”

Fadanelli has been formally charged with 1 number of illegally importing merchandise contrary to law, 1 number of selling oregon dispensing a counterfeit drug, and 1 number of selling oregon dispensing a counterfeit device. She was arrested and made her archetypal quality successful national tribunal Friday.

Botox is routinely utilized to safely trim wrinkles and dainty different aesculapian conditions, specified arsenic chronic migraines. While it’s imaginable that Fadanelli’s clients person avoided harm from her products, counterfeit Botox tin decidedly beryllium a unsafe gamble. Earlier this April, the Food and Drug Administration warned the public that it had received caller reports of unsafe counterfeit Botox being recovered and utilized successful respective states. People injected with these products reportedly developed symptoms soon after, including blurred oregon treble vision, trouble swallowing, adust mouth, constipation, incontinence, and weakness, with immoderate requiring hospitalization.

“Medications purchased from unlicensed sources whitethorn beryllium misbranded, adulterated, counterfeit, contaminated, improperly stored and transported, ineffective and/or unsafe,” the FDA noted.

Federal prosecutors are asking radical who judge that they whitethorn person received counterfeit injections from Fadanelli oregon astatine her spas since 2021 to scope retired and capable retired a questionnaire provided connected the FDA’s website, linked here.