Dunedin Woman Accused Of Distributing Illegal Botox Gets Prison Time

DUNEDIN, FL — This week, U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven sentenced Marina Sievert, 58, of Dunedin to two years in federal prison after she was accused of illegally having unapproved botox treatments from Korea sent through the mail and then selling them online.

Sievert pleaded guilty on June 21 to mail fraud and introduction of an unapproved drug into interstate commerce.

As part of her sentence, the court ordered her to forfeit $1.5 million in proceeds from her crimes and ordered Sievert to pay $20,000 in criminal fines.

See related: Dunedin Woman Indicted On Charges She Sold Illegal Beauty Products

According to court documents, beginning in July 2019 and continuing through April 2022, Sievert owned and operated Beauty Forever Florida Inc., a Florida corporation that she used to order, purchase, import, receive and distribute unapproved and misbranded drugs and medical devices.

For instance, Sievert distributed Innotox Medytox and Meditoxin, which contained botulinum toxin type A, a highly potent toxin that could cause the disease botulism, according to court documents.

Sievert acquired these products from a Korean pharmaceutical company that did not have the required approvals of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for distribution in the United States.

She was also accused of making fraudulent representations on her BFF website to her customers, claiming that BFF’s products were “FDA approved,” had “cleared customs” and had “guaranteed authenticity.”

Sievert collected online orders from the BFF website and used the United States Postal Service and private and commercial interstate carriers to acquire the unapproved drugs from foreign pharmaceutical retailers. Sievert then distributed the unapproved new drugs across the United States via the mail.

This case was investigated by the United States Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations.