A woman from Long Island, New York, has been arrested after allegations of selling counterfeit Ozempic on TikTok surfaced. The arrest came after a buyer reported experiencing severe skin lesions as a result of using the fraudulent product.
A recent statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, reveals that Isis Navarro Reyes, a woman, has been accused of multiple charges. These include receiving and subsequently distributing misbranded drugs across state lines, dispensing prescription drugs without a valid prescription, being involved in a conspiracy to introduce and deliver misbranded drugs, as well as smuggling. If convicted on all six counts, she could potentially face a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, the woman was involved in the marketing, advertising, and sale of several misbranded weight loss drugs that require a prescription. She specifically targeted her social media followers, including those on TikTok, between November 2022 and January 2024. The drugs she sold included counterfeit versions of Ozempic, Mesofrance, and Axcion.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York has revealed that the drugs sold by the woman on TikTok were not approved for sale or distribution in the United States.
According to their claims, Reyes started selling weight loss drugs on her TikTok page in late November 2022. In her videos, she would allegedly share her “personal experiences” with the medications, providing detailed information about the side effects and effectiveness that promoted weight loss.
She not only shared information about the weight loss drugs she was allegedly using herself but also provided guidance to her followers on the frequency of medication usage and the proper methods of administration, whether through oral intake or injections. Furthermore, she went as far as offering instructions on how to reach out to her through an encrypted messaging application, demonstrating her commitment to engaging with her interested audience.
In February 2023, a buyer, known as Victim-1, acquired 30 injections of Mesofrance from the woman on TikTok, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. It is alleged that she sent the drugs to Victim-1’s residence without requesting a prescription.
According to the complaint, the buyer received audio messages from the woman, providing instructions on how to use the drug and advising her to inject herself every three days. It was also mentioned that the vials of the weight loss medication were labeled in a language other than English.
By July 2023, Victim-1 started noticing lesions appearing on her body as a result of using the counterfeit Ozempic. She then took photos of her injuries and shared them with a woman on TikTok. The Attorney’s Office revealed that the buyer was eventually diagnosed with a mycobacterium abscessus infection. This type of infection is commonly caused by the contamination of medications, medical products, and medical devices with the mycobacterium abscessus bacterium.
The New York Department of Health conducted tests on the vials of Mesofrance obtained from Reyes, and the results were positive for mycobacterium abscessus. In December 2023, a sting operation was set up to apprehend Reyes. An undercover police officer, pretending to be a prospective customer, contacted her through an encrypted app. After exchanging several messages regarding Ozempic, the officer, posing as a buyer, was instructed to send $375 for the drug, even without a prescription.
Reyes dispatched the package, which included the drug with a Spanish label affixed to it. Intercepted alongside were packages containing counterfeit Axcion and Ozempic that were being sent to Reyes from Mexico and El Salvador. It remains unclear whether the Ozempic was indeed counterfeit, as the authorities have yet to confirm.
The Attorney’s Office reported that Reyes was arrested and subsequently interviewed by the police on February 15, 2024. During the interview, she allegedly confessed to engaging in the sale of counterfeit products on TikTok for a year. Additionally, Reyes admitted to selling Ozempic on five occasions, which allegedly resulted in a buyer developing lesions. She also confessed to providing money to an individual who sold her Ozempic from El Salvador. Furthermore, Reyes acknowledged purchasing Mesofrance on Facebook but ceased sales upon realizing its illegality. She was aware that selling drugs without a prescription and medical license violated the law.