California Man Charged With Impersonating Surgeon, Flushing Fat Down Toilet

A California man who allegedly posed as doctor and performed liposuction while smoking a cigar will appear in court this week to face several felony charges, the San Francisco Examiner reported.

Carlos Guzmangarza is accused of impersonating a physician’s assistant named Carlos Guzman, who really does exist. He allegedly set up a fraudulent medical practice on Mission Street in San Francisco, which he said he was running under the supervision of a doctor. Prosecutors said neither the doctor or Guzman is affiliated with this clinic, and Guzmangarza never had a medical license.

Guzmangarza allegedly performed liposuction on a woman in 2010 when he quoted her a price lower than other city doctors. Prosecutors said he smoked a cigar during the procedure and made her hold her own IV bag.

A few days after the surgery, Guzmangarza came to the woman’s home and asked her to flush six pounds of her own fat, which he said he removed during the procedure, down the toilet, according to prosecutors.

When the woman’s abdomen became infected, she sought the help of a real doctor, and that’s when she learned Guzmangarza was a fraud, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors added that Guzmangarza also treated the woman’s daughter for acne by injecting an unknown substance into her face.

Guzmangarza faces charges of practicing medicine without a license, assault with force likely to cause great bodily harm and battery, false impersonation, identity theft and grand theft.

Click here to read more on this story from the San Francisco Examiner.