A federal grand jury in Florida has charged two men with smuggling counterfeit Ozempic (semaglutide) into the United States. The FDA and the US Justice Department announced the indictment on 29 September 2026. Prosecutors say the fake pens came from unauthorised sources in China and were sold to US distributors at deeply discounted prices between July 2023 and April 2024. Each man faces up to 71 years in prison if convicted.
What happened
The defendants are two Indian nationals, aged 33 and 37. According to the Justice Department, they and their co-conspirators supplied counterfeit Ozempic with fake packaging, package inserts, pen labels and needles, made to pass as the real product. Court documents allege they kept selling after the FDA seized counterfeit Ozempic and warned the public in December 2023.
| Announced | 29 September 2026 |
| Court | US District Court, Middle District of Florida |
| Alleged period | July 2023 to April 2024 |
| Alleged source | Unauthorised sources in China |
| Charges, each | 1 conspiracy count, 3 smuggling counts, 2 counterfeit drug counts |
| Maximum penalty, each | 71 years in prison |
| Status | One extradited from Italy; one at large |
CBS News reported that prosecutors describe about 11,000 units delivered to a warehouse in Ohio in March 2024. The FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations worked on the case. Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas called counterfeit drugs in the US supply "a direct threat to public health".
What it does not tell us
- Whether anyone was harmed. Neither the FDA nor the Justice Department release describes injuries. On the FDA's counterfeit Ozempic page, the side effects reported for the first fake lot were nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain and constipation, the same as genuine Ozempic. For two later lots, the FDA found none of the reports linked to the counterfeit.
- What was inside the pens. The releases do not say. A counterfeit can hold the wrong dose, a different drug, or nothing, and its needles may not be sterile.
- Guilt. An indictment is an allegation. Both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
- Whether this is the whole problem. The case covers one alleged network over ten months. The FDA has flagged three separate counterfeit Ozempic lots, the latest in December 2025.
What it means for you
The detail that matters most is the route. These pens were allegedly sold to distributors, not only to people buying from social media. A cheap offer is the common thread.
Check the lot number. The FDA lists three counterfeit lots: NAR0074 (serial 430834149057), PAR0362 (serials starting 51746517) and PAR1229. On the PAR1229 fakes, the EXP/LOT text sits to the left of the date and lot number. On the genuine pen it sits above them.
Know your source. The FDA advises getting Ozempic only from a state-licensed pharmacy with a valid prescription. In the UK, the MHRA says to check the pharmacy on the General Pharmaceutical Council register, and warns that powder in vials, mixed before injecting, is not an authorised product. This is different from compounding, which we covered in the FDA's move against compounded GLP-1s and in what compounded GLP-1s are.
Report anything odd. In the US, report to FDA MedWatch. In the UK, use the Yellow Card scheme. Then call your pharmacist or prescriber before your next dose. Do not change or skip doses on your own.
A pen that looks right still needs the usual care. Our guide to injection sites covers rotation and what a normal reaction looks like.
What to do with this
Side effects on a genuine pen, such as nausea in the first days after a dose, are easier to manage with small, regular meals built around protein. A sudden change in how a familiar dose feels is worth a call to your pharmacist.