| Fake Botox doctors begin jail sentences |
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| Tuesday, 12 December 2006 | |
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His patients reported numerous side effects from the fake Botox, including headaches, swelling and bruising, which lasted for many months after the initial treatment, according to Assistant US Attorney Kevin Maloney. Wells ordered the fake Botox in 2004 from an Arizona based company called Toxin Research International. This Tucson company was run by husband and wife doctors Chad Livdahl and Zarah Karim, who themselves were sentenced to prison in January of this year after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges. Lentini was the owner of clinics in Portland and Salem operating under the name "A Younger You". The company's website at www.ayoungeryou.org has been taken down, but a cache of it can be found here. Lentini pleaded guilty to injecting patients with drugs unapproved for human use, having bought his fake Botox from a Chinese supplier, in packages marked "Not for human use". As can be seen from his website, Lentini told patients that he was using FDA approved Botox for his treatments. In August of this year, Lentini's nurse, Cathryn Lyn Garcia, who ran the clinics with him, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for misbranding a drug and injecting patients with it. The federal investigation into Lentini's operations began when four people were critically injured in Florida after receiving treatment with fake Botox. Evidence uncovered by the FBI showed that Lentini and Garcia continued to purchase the fake Botox from China even when they had learnt about the injuries of these patients. “Our relationship with our doctor is a relationship of trust,” said prosecutor Karin J. Immergut. “Dr. Lentini violated that trust and deserved severe punishment.” Sources close to both investigations told Lipo.com that they suspected dozens of doctors of having purchased the fake Botox, and that Lentini's and Wells' prosecutions were just "the tip of the iceberg". Earlier this year, a South Dakota dermatologist pleaded guilty to using fake Botox and received a 12 month suspended sentence. |
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