Instagram influencer gets four years in prison for illegal cosmetic procedures

A German Instagram influencer has been sentenced to four years in prison for conducting illegal beauty treatments.

Michael Rehaag, a spokesperson at the district court in Bochum, told CNN the 29-year-old woman confessed to injecting hyaluronic acid as “filler” into the lips and noses of at least 35 women.

The pregnant social media star, who cannot be named under German privacy law, had 100,000 Instagram followers, Rehaag told CNN.

She used the social media platform to advertise her services between 2017 and April 2019, charging between 300 and 450 Euros ($330 to $495) for the injections, which she initially carried out in her living room.

Later, treatments were carried out in hotel suites “where one room was used as a treatment room and the other as a waiting room for clients,” Rehaag said.

“The court also learned that some treatments were carried out in a private room at discotheques.”

He added: “The presiding judge said that the term ‘hygiene ordinance’ was an unknown to the woman. Basic measures in this area which are absolutely necessary and unavoidable have been disregarded here — such as wearing gloves, wearing a surgical mask, using disinfectants.”

The court heard of at least 35 cases, and prosecutors said there are probably more.

“Many of her clients later complained of complications after their procedures, which ranged from swelling and dents,” Rehaag said.

The woman’s gross payment was estimated to be about $500,000.

The influencer was also ordered to repay around $73,800 in unpaid taxes.

She has been temporarily released from prison to give birth before serving the rest of her sentence, Rehaag confirmed.

A second trial at the Bochum district court is currently underway against the woman’s cousin, who is facing similar charges.