Manhattan esthetician admitted smuggling misbranded drug from Korea for nearly six years

Klara Shuster, the owner of a Manhattan medical spa, pleaded guilty in federal court to a scheme that imported misbranded Botox from Korea and dispensed it to clients without a prescription, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York said. One client was hospitalized for botulism. Shuster faces up to 13 years in prison at her December 9 sentencing.

At an August 3 plea hearing before U.S. District Judge John Koeltl, Shuster — who also goes by Klara Chrzuszcz — admitted that she “imported mislabeled Botox illegally to this country” and then dispensed it to clients, “mislabeled, and I knew it was against the law.” Shuster is the proprietor of Klara Beauty Lab, a medical spa in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood.

According to prosecutor Joseph Rosenberg, the smuggling operation ran from February 2020 to October 2025. Shuster ordered a drug containing botulinum toxin over the internet from Korea, Rosenberg told the court. Instead of administering genuine Botox, Rosenberg said, Shuster “often administered products containing the active ingredient of Botox, which is botulism toxin — but was not Botox.”

The U.S. attorney’s office said one person to whom Shuster gave the substance in Manhattan was hospitalized for botulism, a potentially fatal condition in which a toxin attacks the body’s nerves, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rosenberg told the court the client became “quite sick” before being hospitalized.

During the plea hearing, Judge Koeltl asked Shuster to confirm that she “dispensed a prescription drug containing botulinum toxin that you asserted was a particular drug, but was not that genuine drug.” Shuster replied: “Yes, your Honor.”

Shuster identified herself in court as an esthetician. New York state law prohibits estheticians from prescribing or administering Botox, which is classified as a prescription drug typically used to smooth facial wrinkles. She also admitted in court that she dispensed the drug “without the prescription and without any medical supervision.”

Shuster pleaded guilty to three charges: conspiracy to commit smuggling, dispensing a misbranded drug while held for sale with intent to defraud or mislead, and conspiring to dispense such a drug. Her sentencing was tentatively scheduled for December 9. Federal defendants who plead guilty rather than stand trial do not typically receive the harshest possible punishments.

In a court filing dated October 2, prosecutors noted that Shuster planned to travel to Florida in November “to attend a professional seminar.” The filing provided no further details about the seminar.

Shuster’s attorney, Todd Spodek, said in a statement that his client “has accepted responsibility for her actions.” Shuster said: “Her foremost concern is the health and wellbeing of her clients. She cares deeply about them and recognizes the responsibility that comes with the trust they placed in her.”

In court, Shuster said simply: “I plead guilty because I am guilty. And I am aware of that.”