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The owner of an Upper East Side med spa has pleaded guilty to federal charges for giving clients bootleg Botox that landed one of them in the hospital with botulism.
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Klara Shuster, who also goes by Klara Chrzuszcz, owns Klara Beauty Lab at 50 East 78th Street (between Park and Madison avenues). She entered her guilty plea in Manhattan federal court on Aug. 3. The Guardian reported on the case Tuesday.Shuster is an esthetician, and New York State doesn’t allow estheticians to prescribe or administer Botox, which is a prescription drug. Prosecutors said she ordered a drug containing botulinum toxin, the active ingredient in Botox, over the internet from Korea and gave it to clients as Botox without a prescription or any medical supervision, according to the Guardian. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said her involvement in the smuggling scheme ran from February 2020 to October 2025.
One client who received the substance in Manhattan was later hospitalized with botulism, a potentially deadly illness caused by a toxin that attacks the nerves. A prosecutor told the court the client became very sick before ending up in the hospital.
“I plead guilty because I am guilty,” Shuster told Judge John Koeltl, according to the Guardian.
She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit smuggling, dispensing a misbranded drug with intent to defraud or mislead, and conspiring to dispense a misbranded drug. (“Misbranded” means the drug was labeled or sold as something it wasn’t.) She faces up to 13 years in prison, though federal defendants who plead guilty typically don’t receive the maximum. Sentencing is tentatively set for Dec. 9.
“Ms. Shuster has accepted responsibility for her actions,” her attorney, Todd Spodek, told East Side Feed in a text message. “As her business continues to operate, she remains focused on her clients’ health and well-being and mindful of the trust they place in her.”
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