San Francisco Man Accused Of Posing As Doctor Pleads Not Guilty
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A San Francisco man accused of posing as a doctor and performing liposuction on an unsuspecting woman then flushing her fat down her toilet pleaded not guilty today to several felony charges, prosecutors said.
Carlos Guzmangarza, 49, also known as Carlos Guzman, pleaded not guilty to four counts of practicing medicine without a license, three counts of assault, and one count each of battery, false impersonation and grand theft, San Francisco District Attorney's Office spokesman Omid Talai said.
Guzmangarza allegedly operated a dermatology clinic in the 2500 block of Mission Street in San Francisco's Mission District called the Derma Clinic and assumed the name of a physician's assistant with a similar name to his, prosecutors said.
In early 2010, a victim seeking to have liposuction done on her stomach, as well as an eyelift procedure, was referred to Guzmangarza, who agreed to perform the procedures for $3,000, far less than other quotes she received.
On the day of the procedure, Guzmangarza picked up the woman at her house, drove her to his office and had her hold her IV bag for him during the procedure, which he performed while smoking a cigar, prosecutors said.
A few days later, Guzmangarza showed up at the woman's home with what he said was six pounds of fat that was removed during the liposuction and dumped it down her toilet.
The victim's abdomen later became infected and she was forced to see another doctor, at which point she learned that Guzmangarza was not a real doctor. She has since undergone corrective surgery, prosecutors said.
Guzmangarza also treated the victim's daughter for acne with a series of injections of an unknown substance in her face, according to the district attorney's office.
He was arrested last Thursday and made an initial appearance in court on Friday but delayed entering a plea until today.
Guzmangarza remains in custody in lieu of $750,000 bail and will return to court on Jan. 4 to set the preliminary hearing and discuss the bail amount, Talai said.
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