From the U.S. Attorney:
CHICAGO NURSE CHARGED WITH DISTRIBUTING COUNTERFEIT OZEMPIC
CHICAGO — A registered nurse has been charged in federal court in Chicago with distributing counterfeit Ozempic.
SHARON CHRISTINE SACKMAN distributed the counterfeit drugs to three individuals in Chicago in 2023, according to a criminal information filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The drugs were labeled as the weight-loss medication Ozempic, but they were not manufactured by Ozempic’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, nor did they contain Ozempic’s active ingredient semaglutide, the information states.
Sackman was a registered professional nurse but was not licensed by law to prescribe, administer, dispense, or sell Ozempic, the information states.
Sackman, 52, 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 is punishable by up to a year in federal prison. Sackman pleaded not guilty on Tuesday during her arraignment in federal court in Chicago. A status hearing was scheduled for Feb. 3, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally.
The charges were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Ronne Malham, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Havey.
The public is reminded that an information is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
