Counterfeit Ozempic sold to pharmacies: FDA investigation brings federal smuggling charges
FDA announced on September 29, 2026 that two Indian nationals were charged with conspiracy and smuggling over counterfeit Ozempic sourced from China between July 2023 and April 2024, packaged with fake inserts, pen labels and needles to deceive pharmacies and patients, and distributed even after FDA's December 2023 seizure and warning.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida and the Justice Department's Criminal Division charged Swapnadip Roy and Vicky Ramancha with conspiracy and smuggling in an alleged transnational counterfeit prescription drug scheme investigated by FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations. According to court documents described by FDA, the two obtained counterfeit Ozempic from unauthorized sources in China between July 2023 and April 2024.
The counterfeit product allegedly carried counterfeit packaging, package inserts, pen labels and needles meant to deceive downstream customers, including pharmacies and patients, into believing it was genuine. FDA had issued public safety alerts on counterfeit Ozempic beginning in December 2023, and the court documents allege distribution continued after FDA's December 2023 seizure and warning. An indictment is an allegation; the defendants are presumed innocent.
- Any pharmacy that has bought GLP-1 product outside its licensed wholesaler relationships, especially during the shortage period.
- Online sellers and intermediaries offering branded GLP-1 pens at prices below the authorized channel.
Criminal charges against two individuals. The relevance to pharmacies is the supply chain the scheme targeted: counterfeit product packaged to deceive pharmacies.
| Source published | September 29, 2026 | FDA press announcement; charges filed in the Middle District of Florida. |
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The scheme was built to pass a pharmacy's eyeball check, which means the only defence is the paper one: product bought from a licensed wholesaler with transaction history that traces back to the manufacturer. A pharmacy that sourced branded GLP-1s from a broker during the shortage should be able to show that chain today, because a counterfeit pen dispensed in good faith is still a dispensed counterfeit.
- Review where every branded GLP-1 pen you dispensed since 2023 came from, and confirm each supplier holds the wholesale licence it claims.
- Check that you hold the transaction information, history and statement for those purchases, as the Drug Supply Chain Security Act requires.
- Report any offer of branded GLP-1 product from an unlicensed source to FDA rather than engaging with it.
No current standard mapping; under review. Supply chain sourcing of finished products is not a named element of the public methodology; under review.
- FDA Investigation Leads to Charges Against Two Indian Nationals Involved in Transnational Counterfeit Drug Distribution Scheme PrimaryU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationRetrieved Oct 6, 2026
Press announcement of September 29, 2026: the charges, the July 2023 to April 2024 period, the counterfeit packaging, and the December 2023 alerts.
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