Former Chicago nurse charged with giving counterfeit Ozempic to patients

A former nurse in Chicago has been charged in federal court with distributing counterfeit Ozempic weight-loss drugs.

Sharon Sackman, a registered nurse, distributed the drugs to three people in Chicago in December 2023, prosecutors said in a news released Wednesday. Sackman is accused of falsely labeling the drugs as the popular weight-loss medication, Ozempic.

Prosecutors said the drugs were not manufactured by Ozempic’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, and they did not contain Ozempic’s active ingredient, semaglutide. Prosecutors said Sackman was not licensed by law “to prescribe, administer, dispense or sell Ozempic.”

Sackman, who currently resides in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, is charged with one count of distributing misbranded drugs and three counts of dispensing counterfeit drugs. Each count could receive up to one year in federal prison.

Sackman appeared in federal court in Chicago on Tuesday for her arraignment and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A status hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3.