TikToker Arrested for Allegedly Selling 'Adulterated' Weight Loss Drugs, Leading One Woman to Develop 'Life-Threatening' Lesions

“This case makes clear that extreme caution and physician consultation should always be taken when purchasing medications, especially on social media," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams

A woman allegedly sold misbranded weight loss drugs to consumers, including one who developed a life-threatening bacterial infection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement on Wednesday, May 1.

Isis Navarro Reyes, a New York-based TikTok user who is not licensed to administer prescriptions, allegedly used her social platform to illegally promote and sell prohibited Ozempic, Mesofrance and Axcion products.

Reyes, 36, was arrested on May 1. She was charged with one count of smuggling, one count of receipt of misbranded drugs in interstate commerce and subsequent delivery thereof, three counts of dispensing prescription drugs without prescriptions and one count of conspiracy to introduce and deliver for introduction a misbranded drug in interstate commerce. She could face a maximum of 25 years in prison.

Her actions "caused significant, life-threatening injuries to some victims and put all of her victims in harm's way," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

Related: Several People Hospitalized After Taking Suspected Fake Ozempic in Austria

“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 in a statement. "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,” added Williams.

Along with Ozempic, Reyes allegedly sold Mesofrance and Axcion — which are weight loss pills sold in Mexico made by a Mexican pharmaceutical company. Per the prosecution’s statement, Reyes received the drugs from Central and South America, and the prosecution stated none of the drugs were “approved for sale or dispensing in the United States by the FDA.”

One alleged victim first contacted Reyes in November 2022 to receive the weight loss drugs, according to the criminal complaint. In about February 2023, the victim "purchased 30 injections of Mesofrance," which Reyes allegedly mailed to the victim's home in White Plains, New York. Reyes did not ask for a prescription and the victim "did not provide one," prosecutors say.

Then, from February 2023 through June 2023, the victim “self-administered 28 injections," per the complaint. Reyes allegedly instructed the victim on how to use the drug via "audio message that she recorded and transmitted." She told the victim "among other things, to inject herself every three days," prosecutors said. All of the labeling for the Mesofrance vials the victim received were in a language other than English, "in violation of FDA regulations."

Related: Fake Ozempic Leads to 3 Hospitalizations in US, Prompts FDA Investigation

On July 13, 2023, lesions appeared on the woman’s body, which she photographed and sent to Reyes. Three months later, in October 2023, the victim was diagnosed with a mycobacterium abscessus infection.

Mycobacterium abscessus (“M. abscessus”) is “a bacterium distantly related to the ones that cause tuberculosis and Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy),” per the CDC. “It has been known to contaminate medications and products, including medical devices.” An M. abscessus infection can become fatal, according to a 2018 National Library of Medicine report.

The next month -- one year after the victim first acquired the medication -- the New York Department of Health found the Mesofrance that she bought from Reyes had “tested positive for mycobacterium abscessus.”

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In January, an undercover law enforcement officer allegedly purchased Ozempic from Reyes for $375, per the U.S. attorney’s statement. The medication Reyes sent to the officer included Ozempic with Spanish labels, "in violation of FDA regulations." It was later intercepted by authorities in Manhattan.

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