American Greed Tackles the Epidemic of Counterfeit Beauty Injections

NBC news show examines the clandestine business of administering non-FDA approved beauty treatments.

In the new episode of American Greed, titled “Vanity and Greed: Deadly Beauty”, the NBC show looks at the story of two convicted practitioners of counterfeit beauty treatments. Mississippi resident Tracey Lynn Garner was found guilty of murder in the death of Karima Gordon, according to NOLA.com. Garner was accused of administering the industrial-grade silicone in her home that resulted in Gordon’s death.

According to CBS, Garner was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Karima Gordon.

CBS News reports that Garner was also responsible for the death of a second woman, Marilyn Hale. This case has yet to go to trial.

American Greed also looks at the case of Dr. Chad Livdahl and his wife Zaria Karim. According to the FDA, Livdahl and Karim were responsible for distributing a counterfeit version of Botox via their company TRI, that contained live botulinum toxin. 4 people in Florida sustained life-threatening infections with botulism as a result of the TRI fake Botox.

According to the FDA, “OCI agents arrested four individuals associated with TRI. Chad Livdahl, TRI’s president, was convicted of fraud and misbranding a drug and sentenced to nine years in prison. His wife and co-owner, Zahra Karim, was sentenced to almost six years in prison. Other co-conspirators got lesser sentences.”

For more information on this nationwide problem please see:

Black Market Injectable Cosmetics in the United States, 2007-2013

Dallas Hospital Among Hundreds Receiving FDA Warning About Unapproved Versions of Botox

Health Emergency in Texas Due to Repeated Cases of Disfiguring Counterfeit Beauty Treatments

By S. Imber