The lady’s alleged crime “caused significant, life-threatening injuries” to 1 buyer, warned the U.S. Legal professional’s Place of business, prior to an unrevealed sting.
A TikToker from Lengthy Island used to be arrested this time, accused of the use of social media to promote “misbranded” weight reduction medication — together with Ozempic.
Isis Navarro Reyes has been charged with receipt of misbranded medication in interstate trade and next supply thereof, meting out pharmaceuticals with no prescription, conspiracy to introduce and ship for creation misbranded medication in interstate trade, and smuggling.
In step with a press drop from the U.S. Legal professional’s Place of business, Southern District of Unutilized York, Reyes “marketed, advertised, and sold various misbranded weight loss drugs that require a prescription, including Ozempic, Mesofrance, and Axcion, to followers on social media” from November 2022 thru January 2024.
The Legal professional’s Place of business claims that not one of the medication she bought have been licensed on the market or meting out in the United States.
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In keeping with the felony grievance, Reyes started to spotlight weight reduction medication on her TikTok web page in overdue November 2022. Within the movies, she would describe her “personal experiences — for example, side effects and effectiveness in causing weight loss — in detail” with the use of the medication herself, week additionally giving data on how incessantly they will have to be worn and the way they will have to be taken or injected.
She additionally allegedly recommended audience to touch her the use of an encrypted messaging utility in the event that they’d like to shop for anything else she used to be selling.
In February 2023, in step with the grievance, any individual recognized as most effective Sufferer-1 bought 30 injections of Mesofrance from Reyes, who allegedly mailed the medication to Sufferer-1’s house with out ever inquiring for a prescription. Reyes despatched audio messages by way of the app with directions on virtue the drug, telling her to inject herself each 3 days. The grievance notes that the vials have been lined in labels which “were in a language other than English.”
In keeping with FDA laws, labels within the States should be in English.
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Through July that very same 12 months, Sufferer-1 “began developing lesions” from the use of the drug and started sending Reyes pictures of her accidents. The lady used to be upcoming recognized with “a mycobacterium abscessus infection, which is frequently caused by the contamination of medications, medical products, and medical devices with the mycobacterium abscessus bacterium.”
The vials bought from Reyes containing Mesofrance have been after examined by way of the Unutilized York Area of Condition — and in addition examined certain for mycobacterium abscessus.
The grievance after main points an unrevealed operation to catch Reyes within the function.
In December 2023, a legislation enforcement officer posing as a possible consumer reached out to the suspect by way of the app. The 2 exchanged various messages in regards to the officer’s hobby in Ozempic — and used to be recommended by way of Reyes to ship over $375 for the drug, once more with out prescription. Reyes after dropped off the package deal, with the purported drug — with a Spanish label — inside of. The grievance notes, there’s incorrect proof the drug that used to be bought used to be “not genuine.”
Programs containing purported Axcion and Ozempic and despatched to Reyes from each Mexico and El Salvador have been additionally intercepted. Legislation enforcement hasn’t progressive whether or not the Ozempic used to be counterfeit.
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The grievance stated Reyes used to be interviewed by way of legislation enforcement on February 15, 2024 — the place she allegedly admitted she were promoting merchandise on TikTok for a 12 months, bought Ozempic 5 instances within the week, offers cash to any individual who sends her Ozempic from El Sanvador, bought Mesofrance on Fb, forbidden promoting that drug as a result of she knew it used to be unlawful and used to be conscious it used to be unlawful to promote meds to any individual until she used to be within the clinical grassland.
Reyes is dealing with a ton of occasion in the back of bars, as smuggling comes with a most sentence of two decades. The alternative fees all elevate a most one-year sentence.
“As alleged, Isis Navarro Reyes used her social media following to sell weight loss drugs unapproved for distribution in the United States,” stated U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams in a observation. “Reyes’s alleged unlawful dispensing of these drugs caused significant, life-threatening injuries to some victims and put all of her victims in harm’s way.”
“Recently, public interest in semaglutide and weight loss drugs has skyrocketed, and criminals have sought to take advantage of this interest for their ends,” Williams persisted. “With this, the first misbranding and adulteration charges brought pertaining to Ozempic, Reyes will be held accountable for her conduct, and criminals should think twice before trying to sell weight loss drugs without a license to do so.”
“This case makes clear that extreme caution and physician consultation should always be taken when purchasing medications, especially on social media,” he concluded.
