New York aesthetician charged with injecting counterfeit Botox into clients out on bail
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A New York aesthetician facing federal charges for reportedly injecting people with counterfeit Botox at his Manhattan medical spa is out on bail.
Joey Grant Luther was released on $100,000 bail, secured by his second home in Miami Beach, Florida, following an appearance before a federal judge in Lower Manhattan.
Luther, 54, was ordered to surrender his existing aesthetics license, forfeit his passport and wear a monitoring bracelet. The bail was over the objection of federal prosecutors, who called him a "tremendous risk to the public."
Federal prosecutors said he was taken into custody after arriving Tuesday night from Miami, where he has injected people with Ozempic.
Luther had a Botox injection scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at his Hell's Kitchen spa, according to officials. Authorities said he ordered counterfeit Botox from a Chinese supplier as recently as last July.
"It felt like my body was having an allergic reaction or something to the Botox in part of my forehead," said former client Henry Callander.
Callender added Luther was dismissive with the pain he felt after the Botox injection, telling him to put a cold compress on his eye. Other clients told federal prosecutors about the extreme and painful side effects including one person who said it sent them to the emergency room.
"Botox itself, it's become so mainstream," Callender said. "And I think people become numb to the fact that it can be toxic."
Prosecutors told the judge that Luther knowingly administered counterfeit Botox and also never acquired a state license to administer Botox - real or fake.
Luther's next court date is scheduled for early February. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the top charge he faces.
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