Sharon Charitine Sackman, 52, from Chicago, is facing a prison sentence of up to four years if she is convicted of all the multiple charges against her that date back to 2023
19:52, 15 Jan 2026
A nurse has been charged in federal court after allegedly giving patients counterfeit versions of Ozempic.
Sharon Charitine Sackman, 52, from Chicago in the US, was arrested and charged with distributing misbranded and counterfeit drugs after prosecutors say she provided three people with injections falsely presented as Ozempic during 2023. The medication, authorities allege, was not produced by the drug’s manufacturer and did not contain semaglutide, the active ingredient used to treat type 2 diabetes.
Although Ozempic is not officially a weight-loss drug, some people have been increasingly taking it in a bid to become slimmer. So much so that it has become one of the most in-demand medications in recent years.
This has led to shortages of it and a rise in illegal alternatives sold outside approved medical channels. Federal officials say Sackman took advantage of that demand by supplying patients with drugs labelled as Ozempic, despite allegedly lacking the legal authority to prescribe, dispense or sell the medication.
Court documents state that Sackman was a registered nurse but was not licensed to provide the drug in the way she allegedly did. Prosecutors say the counterfeit products posed potential health risks to patients who believed they were receiving legitimate treatment.
Sackman, who now lives in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, appeared in federal court in Chicago this week, where she entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. She faces one count of distributing misbranded drugs and three counts of dispensing counterfeit drugs.
Each count carries a possible sentence of up to one year in prison if she is convicted. The US Attorney’s Office stressed that the charges are allegations and that Sackman is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
A statement on US Department of Justice website said: "The public is reminded that an information is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
A further hearing has been scheduled before Judge Laura K. McNally on February 3, reports CBS News.
As well as the general population, celebrities have also been jumping on the trend for rapid weight-loss transformations using medications.
While there are concerns around the increasingly gaunt appearances of some stars, one of Britain’s most in-demand aesthetic specialists, Roy Cowley, said that this quick-fix method can have undesirable consequences for its users.
He told the Mirror: "Really, anyone you see who’s had very rapid weight loss, generally it’s down to these Ozempic-type fat-loss jabs. It’s the gaunt appearance - sunken cheeks, hollow eyes, sagging skin and more prominent wrinkles.
"That’s really what defines it. The key thing to understand is that it’s caused by rapid weight loss. Any form of fast weight loss can create the same effect.
Everyone rushed to celebrate the weight-loss revolution, But nobody stopped to think about the aftermath. Skin doesn’t always bounce back, especially when weight drops quickly.”