In Florida, a top destination for plastic surgery, a felony conviction can bar someone from operating a massage parlor or a pawn shop but not from running a cosmetic surgery clinic. Nearly a dozen miles from the beaches of South Florida, four convicted felons ran facilities that became assembly lines for patients from across the country seeking the latest body sculpting procedures at discount prices. One man pleaded guilty to bank fraud, another was convicted of grand theft in a real estate scam. Two others admitted to elaborate Medicare schemes that siphoned millions from taxpayers. At those businesses, at least 13 women have died after surgeries. Nearly a dozen others were hospitalized with critical injuries, including punctured internal organs, USA Today reports.
One of the clinic operators pleaded guilty to bank fraud, another was convicted of grand theft in a real estate scam. Two others admitted to elaborate Medicare schemes that siphoned millions from taxpayers. Jeffry Davis, a co-founder of Strax Rejuvenation, one of the clinics, pointed out that his convictions on federal bank fraud and tax evasion were nearly a quarter-century ago, in 1995. “I personally don’t see how that would affect anybody’s feeling of my integrity today,” he said. Plastic surgery experts have warned lawmakers to take control of the centers by screening owners and boosting regulation, but four attempts at passing bills have failed. A new bill was introduced by State Sen. Anitere Flores in February. Representatives of three clinics – Spectrum, Strax and New Life – said criminal histories have no bearing on the way the centers are run and that their facilities meet state safety requirements.