A Manhattan med spa owner has admitted to using mislabeled Botox after a client became seriously ill and was hospitalized with botulism.
Klara Shuster, also known as Klara Chrzuszcz, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit smuggling and related charges, The Guardian reported Tuesday, October 6.
Shuster also pleaded guilty to dispensing a misbranded drug with intent to defraud or mislead and to conspiring to dispense such a drug.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Shuster, an esthetician, owns Klara Beauty Lab on the Upper East Side.
She acknowledged ordering a drug containing botulinum toxin — the active ingredient in Botox — from Korea over the internet and using it on clients, according to The Guardian.
Botulism is uncommon but can be life-threatening. The CDC says it is caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves and can lead to breathing trouble and muscle paralysis.
New York state does not allow estheticians to prescribe or administer Botox, a prescription drug, according to Med Spa Standards.
“I imported mislabeled Botox illegally to this country,” Shuster said at her plea hearing, according to the Guardian. “And then I dispensed it to clients mislabeled, and I knew it was against the law.”
She said she did so “without the prescription and without any medical supervision.”
“I plead guilty because I am guilty,” Shuster told the court. “And I am aware of that.”
Federal prosecutor Joseph Rosenberg said one client became “quite sick” and was hospitalized after receiving the substance, per the outlet.
When U.S. District Judge John Koeltl asked whether she had given a client a drug she represented as another product, resulting in that person being hospitalized with botulism, Shuster replied, “Yes, Your Honor.”
Her attorney, Todd Spodek, said Shuster “has accepted responsibility for her actions.”
“Her foremost concern is the health and wellbeing of her clients,” Spodek said per The Guardian.
“She cares deeply about them and recognizes the responsibility that comes with the trust they placed in her.”
She faces up to 13 years in prison and is tentatively set to be sentenced Wednesday, December 9.
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