Man Charged With Giving Fake Botox Injections That Sickened Clients

Joey Grant Luther promised the clients of his Manhattan medical spa faces that were less wrinkled, eyes that were more youthful, and genitalia that were larger, all through the magic of injectable treatments like Botox.

Instead, prosecutors said, many of those clients were left with botulism, impaired vision and other maladies after Mr. Luther illegally injected them with counterfeit drugs.

Mr. Luther, 54, was charged on Monday with wire fraud, smuggling and crimes related to the handling of counterfeit drugs, according to a complaint prosecutors unsealed on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.

On social media, Mr. Luther and the medical spa he ran, JGL Aesthetics, advertised a life of luxury and wealth. At the spa, Mr. Luther, who is not a doctor and did not have a license to administer Botox, posed in a white lab coat alongside attractive young clients.

Outside work, he posted pictures from black-tie benefits and sunny vacation spots, like the American Ballet Theater Gala, Fire Island Pines and Miami Beach. Often he was shirtless, rollicking through crashing surf or lounging with age-defying men in Speedos.

But at his day job, prosecutors said, Mr. Luther was injecting clients in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood with counterfeit Botox from China.

In statement announcing the charges, Danielle R. Sassoon, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Mr. Luther “knowingly purchased counterfeit Botox from China, injected it into his clients, and represented that the counterfeit Botox that he was peddling was genuine.”

“Luther continued to purchase and inject the counterfeit Botox even after he learned that clients had fallen ill or experienced strange symptoms after Luther injected them,” Ms. Sassoon said. “Luther’s disregard for the health of his clients put all of his victims in harm’s way and, in some cases, caused life-threatening injuries.”

The criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday outlined a long list of medical problems Mr. Luther’s clients experienced. At least one person developed botulism, a potentially fatal illness that attacks the body’s nerves.

Others experienced heart palpitations, difficulty swallowing and chewing, slurred speech, trouble lifting their arms, double vision and lightheadedness.

The complaint also included documentation that showed Mr. Luther knew he was receiving tainted products, including online messages that described the Botox as “bad.” Records show that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized shipments addressed to Mr. Luther in 2023 and 2024.

Mr. Luther offered clients injectable treatments to address excessive underarm sweat and facial wrinkles, as well as to reduce wrinkles in the scrotum and increase penis size, according to prosecutors.

But he did not advertise those treatments on the spa’s website or Instagram page. Instead, he listed them on iPads handed to patients after they arrived, and instructed his employees never to take pictures of him performing injections, prosecutors said.

When clients complained to Mr. Luther about their health problems, he told them they were experiencing normal side effects, according to messages obtained by prosecutors. Some of the side effects reported to Mr. Luther are listed by Botox’s manufacturers as potentially serious adverse effects that require urgent medical attention.

Prosecutors said Mr. Luther reassured clients that they had been given products purchased from Allergan, an American company that manufactures Botox.

But in reality, Mr. Luther was purchasing the products from suppliers based in China. Pictures of the shipments sent to Mr. Luther were included in the court documents.

In private messages to the suppliers, Mr. Luther expressed concern over the side effects his clients were experiencing. And he was angry that his suppliers had sent him “contaminated” drugs, especially after he had “ordered thousands and thousands of bottles” from them over the years.

“You sold me bad Botox and my clients were in the hospital,” Mr. Luther wrote last April to one supplier. “I had to pay their bills and try to save my reputation. Do you know how much money I lost?”

To make up for those losses, he demanded that the supplier send him another shipment if it wanted to keep his business.

“You can send me 41 bottles and I will place another order,” Mr. Luther said. “But I will never place another order with you until I receive those 41 bottles.”

Prosecutors said Mr. Luther continued to give the counterfeit treatments until last July, as concern was growing about the use of counterfeit Botox across the country.

Mr. Luther was aware of these concerns. On April 16, one of his clients sent him a message saying they had developed double vision following a Botox treatment at Mr. Luther’s spa, and had gone to the emergency room for an M.R.I. brain scan.

The client also sent Mr. Luther a CNN report published the day before that said 19 people in nine states, including New York, had reported harmful reactions after receiving cosmetic injections administered by unlicensed people, including some products that were found to be counterfeit.

Three days later, Mr. Luther replied to his worried client: “The Botox is from Allergan, so I know that’s not an issue. Sorry you’re going through this. I know it’s frustrating.”

Then, he sent an angry message to one of his suppliers in China to say “at least 20” of his clients had gotten sick because of “contaminated” product.

“It’s on the news here,” Mr. Luther wrote. “Do you understand what I’m saying? The Botox that you sent me for February and March has caused all of these side effects for my clients.”