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" 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 from "Havard" [sic] and trained to provide "advanced cosmetic procedures." She also claimed to be licensed by the Massachusetts "Estate Board."