Photo: Orange County District Attorney's Office
A California man was arrested after being accused of impersonating a doctor and performing unlicensed surgeries and procedures. The Orange County District Attorney's Office said that 61-year-old Elias Renteria Segoviano has worked out of several locations in and around Anaheim since 2019, performing Botox injections, lip and face fillers, and thread-lift procedures.
Prosecutors said that Segoviano advertised his illegal medical practice on social media and specifically targeted Spanish-speaking women.
"Medical professionals are highly trained and highly regulated for a reason," District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. "These women trusted this individual to have the training and the expertise required to perform these medical procedures, and instead, they unknowingly put their very lives in the hands of someone who had no idea what they were doing."
Segoviano has been charged with felony counts of unauthorized practice of medicine, false indication of a medical license, and perjury. He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of misrepresenting himself as a licensed medical practitioner, representation of license not issued to him, misrepresentation of qualifications, and impersonating a professional nurse or pretending to be licensed to practice nursing.
Officials did not say if anybody was harmed as a result of the procedures and have asked any other potential victims to come forward.
Segoviano pleaded not guilty to the charges and was held on $1 million bail. If convicted, Segoviano faces a maximum sentence of five years and four months in prison.