US man posed as doctor in fraudulent scheme to profit from Ozempic, prosecutors say

Rodney Greer accused of securing unauthorized prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs and selling them to customers

An Illinois man who allegedly impersonated doctors – and evidently referred to himself online as “$hotboy1” – is facing criminal charges that he secured unauthorized prescriptions for Ozempic and Mounjaro, pharmaceutical drugs that facilitate weight loss and are taken by some people for cosmetic rather than legitimate medical reasons.

Rodney Greer purportedly launched the alleged scheme in early 2023, according to court filings from federal prosecutors and a US justice department news release issued on Monday.

In exchange for obtaining the illicit prescriptions for what are known as GLP-1 medications, customers of Greer would pay him money, federal prosecutors in Manhattan contended.

Greer, who allegedly also went by the name Christian Marchand, pleaded not guilty to the four-count indictment that accused him of wire fraud, healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft. Greer’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors said Greer got his hands on doctors’ personal identification, which included their names and national provider identification numbers (NPIs). Federal prosecutors allege that Greer kept “handwritten lists” with about 60 doctors’ personal information across about 19 US states.

Then, from January 2023 until March 2026, Greer called approximately 261 pharmacies on about 3,329 different occasions and used the doctors’ identifying and licensing information “to impersonate them”. Greer, prosecutors alleged, “claimed to be a health care provider; falsely identified himself as a physician; and provided other false information to receive GLP-1 and other prescription medications”.

Greer in doing so enabled the “unauthorized redemption” of hundreds of thousands of dollars in health insurance plan benefits for his clients, prosecutors said.

A federal criminal complaint against Greer, which led to his arrest in Chicago in June, detailed his purported scheme with allegedly incriminating text messages. In one exchange, Greer’s name is allegedly written as “$hotboy1 Christian Marchand”.

It was unclear whether the name was a reference to the fact that Ozempic and Mounjaro are frequently taken with an injection pen.

In any event, in late March 2023, one buyer of Ozempic pinged Greer over an alleged delay, writing, “[w]hat good playa … U forgot bout ya boy”, the complaint against Greer said.

Greer allegedly responded: “[N]ope it’s a process, should know something today.”

In June of that year, Greer allegedly sent that person a message stating: “[s]o go ahead with the 2mg?”

The buyer at another point asked: “[d]id you put in my thing for this week my shjt [sic] is done,” to which Greer allegedly replied: “[y]es sir.”

That particular buyer has pleaded guilty under a cooperation agreement related to Greer’s alleged scheme.

Authorities also cited messages in a payment application. One payment app showing the username $hotboy1 “lists two display names as being associated with the account: ‘Christian Marchand’ and ‘Rod Greer’”, the criminal complaint stated.

One payment app account received seven payments from a supposed patient, with one transaction stating: “I’m ready for my order.” One payment mentioned a patient’s name “followed by ‘OZE’ – the first three letters of Ozempic’”, the criminal complaint said.

Another alleged payment description states “deposit for next pen”.