Klara Shuster, also known as Klara Chrzuszcz, is an esthetician who owns Klara Beauty Lab medical spa in Manhattan's Upper East Side. From February 2020 to October 2025, she ordered a drug containing botulism toxin over the internet from Korea, then administered it to clients misrepresenting it as genuine Botox.
In court at her August 3 plea hearing, Shuster said: "I imported mislabeled Botox illegally to this country. And then I dispensed it to clients mislabeled, and I knew it was against the law." She also acknowledged doing so without a prescription or medical supervision.
Prosecutor Joseph Rosenberg told the court that Shuster advertised and performed services including administering Botox, but instead often gave clients products containing botulism toxin. New York state prohibits estheticians from prescribing or administering Botox, a prescription drug. One client who received the substance in Manhattan was hospitalized for botulism and became "quite sick," according to Rosenberg.
Shuster's attorney, Todd Spodek, said his client "has accepted responsibility for her actions." She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit smuggling, dispensing a misbranded drug, and conspiring to dispense such a drug.
Sentencing is set for December 9. She faces up to 13 years in prison, though federal defendants who plead guilty do not typically receive the maximum.