Nurse Sharon Christine Sackman Charged With Giving Counterfeit Ozempic to Chicago Patients

Case from 2026 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Jan. 14, 2026). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Sharon Christine Sackman, 52, a registered nurse now living in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, has been charged in federal court in Chicago with distributing counterfeit Ozempic to three people in Chicago in 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced Jan. 14, 2026 [1].

Important: Sackman is charged only. She has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

What she is accused of

According to the criminal information as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

1. Fake labels: The drugs Sackman allegedly distributed were labeled as the weight-loss medication Ozempic.
2. Not the real drug: They were not made by Ozempic's manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, and did not contain Ozempic's active ingredient, semaglutide.
3. No authority: Although a registered professional nurse, Sackman was not licensed to prescribe, administer, dispense or sell Ozempic.

The person charged

Sharon Christine Sackman, 52, Playa del Carmen, Mexico [1]

• Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
• Charges: one count of distributing misbranded drugs and three counts of dispensing counterfeit drugs, each punishable by up to a year in federal prison.
• Plea: not guilty at arraignment on Jan. 13, 2026; a status hearing was set for Feb. 3, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally.
• Investigation: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Havey.

Red flags

• "Ozempic" or other GLP-1 drugs offered outside a pharmacy, such as at a spa, salon or private home.
• Prices far below pharmacy cost or no prescription required.
• Pens or vials with unfamiliar packaging, misspellings or missing lot numbers.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Buy prescription drugs only from licensed pharmacies. Check online pharmacies through the NABP's safe pharmacy list.
2. If you've used a suspect product, see a doctor and keep the packaging.
3. Report suspected counterfeit drugs to the FDA's MedWatch program and its Office of Criminal Investigations.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Sharon Christine Sackman, 52	N.D. Ill.	Charged by information (1 count misbranded drugs, 3 counts counterfeit drugs); pleaded not guilty Jan. 13, 2026; no later outcome found in public sources as of Oct. 16, 2026	[1], [2]

An information is an accusation, not evidence of guilt.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Chicago Nurse Charged with Distributing Counterfeit Ozempic," Jan. 14, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/chicago-nurse-charged-distributing-counterfeit-ozempic
2. CBS Chicago, "Nurse appears in court on charges of giving fake Ozempic to Chicago patients." https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/nurse-due-in-court-fake-ozempic-chicago-patients/

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