Woman Selling 'Misbranded' Ozempic on TikTok Arrested After Buyer Wound Up Covered In Lesions: Authorities

Isis Navarro Reyes has been charged with receipt of misbranded drugs in interstate commerce and subsequent delivery thereof, dispensing prescription drugs without a prescription, conspiracy to introduce and deliver for introduction misbranded drugs in interstate commerce, and smuggling.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New 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 through January 2024.

The Attorney's Office claims that none of the drugs she sold were approved for sale or dispensing in the US.

Per the criminal complaint, Reyes began to highlight weight loss drugs on her TikTok page in late November 2022. In the videos, she would describe her "personal experiences -- for example, side effects and effectiveness in causing weight loss -- in detail" with using the drugs herself, while also giving information on how often they should be used and how they should be taken or injected.

She also allegedly instructed viewers to contact her using an encrypted messaging application if they'd like to buy anything she was promoting.

In February 2023, according to the complaint, someone identified as only Victim-1 purchased 30 injections of Mesofrance from Reyes, who allegedly mailed the drugs to Victim-1's home without ever asking for a prescription. Reyes sent audio messages via the app with instructions on how to use the drug, telling her to inject herself every three days. The complaint notes that the vials were covered in labels which "were in a language other than English."

Per FDA regulations, labels in the States must be in English.

By July that same year, Victim-1 "began developing lesions" from using the drug and began sending Reyes photos of her injuries. The woman was later diagnosed 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 purchased from Reyes containing Mesofrance were then tested by the New York Department of Health -- and also tested positive for mycobacterium abscessus.

The complaint then details an undercover operation to catch Reyes in the act.

In December 2023, a law enforcement officer posing as a potential client reached out to the suspect via the app. The two exchanged a number of messages about the officer's interest in Ozempic -- and was instructed by Reyes to send over $375 for the drug, again without prescription. Reyes then dropped off the package, with the purported drug -- with a Spanish label -- inside. The complaint notes, there's no evidence the drug that was sold was "not genuine."

Packages containing purported Axcion and Ozempic and sent to Reyes from both Mexico and El Salvador were also intercepted. Law enforcement hasn't determined whether the Ozempic was counterfeit.

The complaint said Reyes was interviewed by law enforcement on February 15, 2024 -- where she allegedly admitted she had been selling products on TikTok for a year, sold Ozempic five times in the past, gives money to someone who sends her Ozempic from El Sanvador, purchased Mesofrance on Facebook, stopped selling that drug because she knew it was illegal and was aware it was illegal to sell meds to anyone unless she was in the medical field.

Reyes is facing a ton of time behind bars, as smuggling comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years. The other charges all carry a maximum 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," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a statement. "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 continued. "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.