Real Housewives Botox Nurse Pleads Guilty to Buying Misbranded Botox from Fake Online Pharmacy in Canada
California nurse who provided Botox treatments to the stars of Real Housewives of Orange County has pleaded guilty to charges she treated her patients with non-FDA approved Botox. Her original supplier of the misbranded Botox was SB Medical, an illicit Canadian medication importer that paid $75 million in fines and Penalties in 2015 for illegally importing misbranded and counterfeit medications.
A California registered nurse who acted as beauty consultant to the stars has pleaded guilty to purchasing foreign-made and non-FDA approved Botox from an illicit Canadian pharmaceutical importer, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reports.
Bridget “Gigi” Goddard, who owned Pure Indulgence Skin Rejuvenation in Laguna Nigel, has agreed to plead guilty to one felony charge of receipt and delivery of misbranded drugs, notes the DOJ.
Goddard originally received a warning from the FDA about her illicit Botox purchases in 2013.
Goddard’s supplier, SB Medical were fined $75 million “for orchestrating a multi-year conspiracy to smuggle misbranded prescription pharmaceuticals into the United States,” according to the FDA press release on the occasion of their sentencing.
According to the FDA, SB Medical did not just sell illicit Botox in the United States. They also “smuggled orthopedic injections, rheumatology infusions, cosmetic devices, ophthalmology (sic) products, and oncology drugs into the United States. The non-FDA approved prescription pharmaceuticals were sourced from other foreign countries, including India, Turkey, France, Italy, and other countries. The pharmaceuticals included Lucentis, Mabthera, Botox, Dysport, Euflexxa, Remicade, Restylane, Synvisc, Prolia, Orencia, Orthovisc, and other products.”
According to MyNewsLA, an undercover Federal agent who posed as a potential client finally brought Goddard to justice in April.
In a similar case in Brownsville, Texas, RGV reports that Nohemi “Mimi” Gonzales has been convicted of charges that she practiced medicine without a license, practicing medicine in exchange for money, and committed simple assault in a case where Gonzales was accused of substituting industrial silicone for the Botox she claimed to be administering. According to Reuters, Gonzales could still face a murder charge in the death of one of her clients.
By S. Imber