MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force is warning anyone who may have bought weight loss drugs in Medina or Brownsville to check if they may have black-market drugs.
“We have no idea what’s in them - if they are what they say they are on the vials,” said Johnie Carter, Director of the West Tennessee Drug Task Force, during a news conference Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.
Carter said 41-year-old Emily Brooke Arnold has been charged, accused of selling hundreds of vials of black-market weight loss drugs from her home and to at least two clinics.
He said the investigation began after investigators received complaints from people ordering weight loss drugs but weren’t sure if they were doing anything wrong when directed to pick up the drugs from a porch at a home in the 300 block of Saddlebrook Dr. in Medina.
He said agents conducted a two-month undercover investigation, purchasing the drug Tirzepatide, which is used to treat diabetes and is being reviewed for weight loss. Investigators said in that time, the undercover agents paid $155 to $160 for a month supply.
The investigation led to a search warrant on the home on Dec. 10, where investigators found 330 vials of the drugs Tirzepatide, Semaglutide, Retatrutide, and Congrilitide. Carter said the drugs were shots, similar to those used to treat diabetes. He said the vials included warnings that they were “not for human consumption” and “for research purposes only.”
Investigators said they learned Arnold had been selling the drugs to the Medina Weight Loss and Wellness clinic as well. A search warrant for the clinic turned up 279 vials of drugs.
They said the search at the clinic led to another location - Haywood Weight Loss and Wellness in Brownsville. A search warrant there turned up another 89 vials, for a total of 698 vials seized by investigators.
Carter said Arnold had a website and was advertising the drugs and shipped to outside Tennessee as well.
Carter said Arnold had been operating more than a year and up to two years, and hundreds of vials were sold the drugs through the website and the clinic – at a minimum. They are still working to determine the exact numbers.
“We had some complaints where some were taking them for a while and they did nothing, and we had complaints where they were actually working,” he said. “That’s our concern right now. We don’t know, nobody knows right now, what these people are putting in their bodies.”
Carter said customers were paying hundreds of dollars of month for the drugs, but they don’t have an exact amount at this time. He said the two clinics spent between $60,000 to $80,000 total with Arnold since January.
They are also still investigating if other weight loss clinics may be involved. Carter said he could not comment if anyone at the clinics or others will face charges, and that the findings will be presented to the D.A. to decide.
Investigators are working with pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to identify the vials of drugs and any impurities involved. Carter said the clinic owners and staff are cooperating and calling customers for a recall of the medications. He wants customers to return the drugs to the clinic immediately and do not use them.
“Don’t take any more,” he said. “Go see a regular physician and get a checkup. Get the legitimate prescription shot.”
Carter couldn’t comment on possible refunds for the drugs for the customers.
An email hotline has been set up for anyone to provide information – whether they think they bought these drugs or other information for the investigation. The email is weightloss28@scdag.com.
Carter said Arnold has been charged with:
- Impersonating a licensed professional
- Reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon
- Criminal simulation
- Money laundering
- Selling a legend drug
He said she faces charges in both Gibson and Haywood County. He said federal charges are a possibility if other agencies want to join the investigation, but they haven’t spoken to them yet.
