A spa owner in Massachusetts posed as a nurse when she injected clients with fake Botox and filler, federal prosecutors say. Rebecca Fadanelli, 38, allegedly imported fake Botox, Sculptra, and Juvederm from China and Brazil, NBC News reports. Prosecutors said that between March 2021 and this year, she "completed approximately 1,631 Botox appointments, totaling $522,869 in client payments, and 1,085 filler appointments, totaling $410,545 in client payments." According to court documents, a client complained to the FDA in 2022 after injections from Fadanelli left her with "bumps" in her lips and tingling in her forehead, reports WBZ News.
Fadenelli, an aesthetician, has been charged with illegally importing merchandise contrary to law, selling or dispensing a counterfeit drug, and selling or dispensing a counterfeit device. She owns Skin Beaute Med Spa, which has locations in Randolph and South Easton. "For years, Ms. Fadanelli allegedly put unsuspecting patients at risk by representing herself to be a nurse and then administering thousands of illegal, counterfeit injections," said acting US Attorney Joshua Levy. "The type of deception alleged here is illegal, reckless, and potentially life-threatening."
According to court documents, Fadanelli denied claiming to be a nurse or giving injections. "When agents asked Fadanelli if she would like to retract or modify that claim if she knew there was evidence showing that she was in fact administering such products, she reiterated that she does not administer injections," an affidavit states. Prosecutors said she bought vials of fake Botox on Alibaba for $50. The price for real Botox is around $650 per vial. She was also caught at Logan Airport returning from Brazil with illegal products, prosecutors said. In June, the CDC issued an alert on harmful reactions caused by counterfeit Botox. (More Botox stories.)
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