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Chicago Nurse Charged for Selling Counterfeit Ozempic

January 16, 2026
Chicago skyline from the lake

Federal prosecutors have charged a former Chicago nurse with distributing counterfeit Ozempic to multiple individuals in 2023. 

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Sharon Christine Sackman, a registered nurse who currently lives in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, was charged with:

  • One count of distributing misbranded drugs
  • Three counts of dispensing counterfeit drugs

Each count carries a potential penalty of up to one year in federal prison.

During the semaglutide supply shortage that officially ended in February 2024, the FDA warned that counterfeit GLP-1s had entered the U.S. drug supply chain, sometimes containing no active ingredient or unsafe contaminants. 

Prosecutors allege that in 2023, Sackman distributed vials labeled as Ozempic to three people in Chicago. Lab analysis and federal filings indicated:

  • The vials were not manufactured by Novo Nordisk, the official maker of Ozempic.
  • The products did not contain semaglutide, Ozempic’s active ingredient.

Sackman was a registered nurse but not licensed to prescribe, administer, dispense, or sell Ozempic or any prescription medication.

Sackman pleaded not guilty during her January arraignment, and a status hearing is scheduled for February 3, 2026. 

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