Aesthetician charged with injecting customers with counterfeit Botox

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City aesthetician was charged Wednesday with injecting customers with counterfeit Botox at his medical spa after some of them complained that it made them sick.

The charges against Joey Grant Luther were announced by federal authorities, who said some clients faced life-threatening injuries after receiving injections between 2021 and last July at the spa business in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.

Luther, 54, of Manhattan, who authorities said was not licensed to provide Botox injections, was charged with wire fraud, smuggling and other crimes related to misbranded and counterfeit drugs. Authorities said he’d been buying counterfeit Botox from countries in Asia, including China, between April 2023 and last July.

Luther was released on $100,000 bail. A message for comment was sent to Luther’s lawyer.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said in a release that Luther told his clients that counterfeit Botox he purchased from China was the real thing.

She said he kept injecting it into customers even after learning that some had gotten sick or had strange symptoms.

“Luther’s disregard for the health of his clients put all of his victims in harm’s way and, in some cases, caused life-threatening injuries,” Sassoon said.

According to court papers, one of Luther’s patients was diagnosed with botulism last March after receiving an injection at Luther’s business a month earlier. A criminal complaint said she initially experienced double vision, lightheadedness, difficulty swallowing, heart palpitations and slurred speech. It said she also could not lift her arms.

The complaint said Luther also lied to clients, telling them that any side effects they felt were temporary and assuring them that he wasn’t using counterfeit Botox even though he knew that he was.

During a raid last March on Luther’s business, investigators found records showing at least 700 appointments had occurred in which Botox-related services were provided, the complaint said.