“Havard”-trained spa owner injected clients with bogus Botox, prosecutors say

A Massachusetts spa owner has been arrested for what prosecutors describe as a blundering scheme in which she conspicuously smuggled counterfeit Botox and skin fillers into the US, then peddled them to clients by falsely claiming to be a nurse with a degree from "Havard" [sic] and a license from the state's "Estate Board." Nevertheless, the woman—Rebecca Fadanelli, 38, of Stoughton—allegedly performed over 2,700 illegal injections between 2021 and 2024, raking in over $900,000 with the scam. According to an affidavit from a special agent with the Food and Drug Administration, Fadanelli was smuggling in counterfeit Botox and fillers from China and Brazil. Between November 2023 and March 2024, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized at least six parcels from China addressed to Fadanelli or her employees. The packages included various counterfeit injectable drugs, including products labeled as Botox and skin fillers Sculptra and Juvederm. When CBP began seizing packages addressed to Fadanelli's spa, she then had them addressed to her home. When the CBP caught on, the address was switched to another of Fadanelli's businesses and eventually to an acquaintance's. Fadanelli also tried smuggling counterfeit drugs from Brazil. When Fadanelli made a return trip from the country, CBP inspected her belongings at Boston's Logan Airport, finding a variety of counterfeit drugs, including counterfeit weight-loss drugs labeled as Ozempic, vials labeled as Lidocaine, and skin fillers. Despite the seizures, Fadanelli still managed to get some counterfeit Botox and fillers into her spa, which she personally carried into the business in a silver suitcase and a lunchbox, according to prosecutors. She then allegedly peddled them to clients, advertising on her website that she was an aesthetician with a degree in anatomy and trained to provide "advanced cosmetic procedures."

Mounting evidence

Multiple clients and employees told investigators that Fadanelli also said she is a registered nurse, which is false. Though she is a registered aesthetician, aestheticians are not permitted to administer injections or prescription drugs. Investigators set up an undercover operation where an agent went in for a consultation, and Fadanelli provided a quote for a $450 Botox treatment. Investigators also obtained videos and images of Fadanelli performing injections. And the evidence points to those injections being counterfeit, prosecutors allege. Sales records from the spa indicate that Fadanelli performed 1,631 "Botox" injections, 95 "Sculptra" injections, and 990 injections of unspecified "filler," all totaling over $933,000. But sales records from the manufacturers of the brand name drugs failed to turn up any record of Fadanelli or anyone else from her spa ever purchasing legitimate versions of the drugs. Despite the mounting evidence against her, Fadanelli reportedly stuck to her story, denying that she ever told anyone she was a nurse and denying ever administering any 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." Ars has reached out to Fadanelli's spa for comment and will update this story if we get a response. According to the affidavit, clients who received the allegedly bogus injections complained of bumps, tingling, and poor appearances, but no infections or other adverse health outcomes. In a press release announcing her arrest, Acting United States Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said: “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. ... The type of deception alleged here is illegal, reckless, and potentially life-threatening." For a charge of illegal importation, Fadanelli faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. For each of two charges of knowingly selling or dispensing a counterfeit drug or counterfeit device, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.