Merrillville Woman Indicted On Mail Fraud
Dina Al-Sbeihi, 36, of Merrillville, Indiana, was charged by way of an Indictment with three counts of mail fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
According to documents in the case, it is alleged that between July 2015 and August 2019, Al-Sbeihi engaged in a scheme to defraud consumers by selling counterfeit medical devices, namely counterfeit Juverderm and Restalyne. Juvederm and Restalyne are prescription dermal fillers that are injected into the skin and are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Indictment alleges that Al-Sbeihi imported counterfeit Juvederm and Restalyne products from foreign manufacturers located in the People’s Republic of China and elsewhere. The counterfeit products were packaged and branded to look like authentic Juvederm and Restalyne products. These foreign-made dermal fillers had not been approved by the FDA and, as a result, the safety and efficacy of the products were unknown.
According to the Indictment, Al-Sbeihi sold these counterfeit products through her retail company The Beauty Pharmacy falsely representing them to be genuine. Al-Sbeihi used the U.S. Mails to ship the counterfeit products to her customers. It is alleged that Al-Sbeihi earned more than $260,000 from consumers by selling counterfeit Juverderm and Restalyne products to customers in the United States.
The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons are presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty in court.
“The importing of counterfeit medical devices and selling them as legitimate creates a great concern for the public purchasing these counterfeit products,” said U.S. Attorney Kirsch. “Consumers have a right not to be misled in the manner alleged in this case. I want to thank the law enforcement agencies that investigated this case.”
“Distributing medical devices of unknown origin and components instead of FDA-approved devices places the U.S. public health at risk,” said Lynda M. Burdelik, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “We will aggressively pursue and bring to justice those who attempt to subvert FDA requirements, which are designed to ensure the safety and quality of devices distributed to American consumers.”
If convicted, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
This case is being investigated by U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Abizer Zanzi.
