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Two accused of performing illegal liposuctions in Revere

Print | Comments () Posted by John Ellement September 9, 2010 05:57 PM

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By Brian Ballou and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

CHELSEA – A man and a woman today pleaded not guilty to charges they collected "large sums of money'' to illegally perform liposuctions and other types of cosmetic surgery at a Revere office building.

Victor Hernandez, 38, and Maria Nascimento, 55, pleaded not guilty in Chelsea District Court where Judge Diana Maldonado set bail at $10,000 cash for Hernandez and $5,000 cash for Nascimento.

According to Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Hinman, neither Hernandez nor Nascimento had the required medical licenses to perform any type of surgery. Hinman said in court that the medical procedures the two allegedly handled could have caused fatal injuries to their clients.

"Their activities could have easily led to the deaths or serous injuries to any of these patients,'' Hinman said. She said they also took in "large sums of money."

According to their attorneys, Hernandez is a native of Mexico and Nascimento is a native of Brazil who moved to the US about nine years ago.

Hernandez is a US Navy veteran who attended medical school in Mexico and was also a student at Chapman University in Orange County, Calif., according to attorney Michael Capone. He did not say if Hernandez graduated from the Mexican medical school.

The two were charged based on an investigation by Conley's office, Middlesex prosecutors, State Police, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Revere police.

They are also charged with possession of a Class E substance with intent to distribute for allegedly using lidocaine, a local anesthetic, during the procedures, prosecutors said. Hernandez is also accused of using stolen medical equipment.

“We’ve already seen what can happen when surgical procedures are performed by people without legitimate training and licensure,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said in a statement, referring to the death of a 24-year-old woman during an illegal operation in Framingham. “Local, state, and federal authorities are trying to keep it from happening again.”