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Multiple clients and employees told investigators that Fadanelli also said she is a registered nurse, which is not true. Although she is a registered esthetician, estheticians are not allowed to administer injections or prescription medications.
Investigators set up an undercover operation where an officer came by 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 these injections being counterfeit, prosecutors allege. Sales records from the spa show that Fadanelli performed 1,631 “Botox” injections, 95 “Sculptra” injections and 990 injections of unspecified “filler,” all totaling more than $933,000. But sales records from the manufacturers of the brand-name drugs did not show that Fadanelli or anyone else at her spa ever purchased legitimate versions of the drugs.
Despite mounting evidence against her, Fadanelli reportedly stuck to her story, denying that she had ever told anyone she was a nurse and denying that she had ever administered injections. “When officers asked Fadanelli if she would retract or change that statement if she knew there was evidence she was actually administering such products, she reiterated that she did not administer injections.”
Ars has reached out to Fadanelli's spa for comment and will update this story if we receive a response. According to the affidavit, clients who received the so-called false injections complained of bumps, tingling and poor appearance, but no infections or other adverse health effects.
In a press release announcing her arrest, Acting United States Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said: “For years, Ms. Fadanelli allegedly endangered unsuspecting patients by posing as a nurse and then administering thousands of illegal, counterfeit injections. serve. … The type of deception alleged here is illegal, reckless and potentially life-threatening.”
Fadanelli faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on charges of illegal importation. On each of the two counts of knowingly selling or dispensing counterfeit drugs or devices, she faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
