Release #168-2012 ww w.queensda.

org

DISTRICT ATTORNEY
QUEENS COUNTY
125-01 QUEENS BOULEVARD KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415-1568 718-286-6000

RICHARD A. BROWN
D ISTRICT A TTORNEY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012

CONTACT: KEVIN RYAN HELEN PETERSON MERIS CAMPBELL (718) 286-6315

QUEENS WOMAN ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES OF UNLAWFULLY PRACTICING MEDICINE AND SERIOUSLY INJURING PATIENT Allegedly Performed Buttocks Enhancement Procedure Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a Flushing woman has been charged with illegally injecting a customer with a foreign substance during a buttocks enhancement procedure that she was not licensed to perform. The victim has been hospitalized three times since the procedure was performed last month. District Attorney Brown said, The defendant allegedly exploited the vanity of her customer by pretending to be qualified to perform a procedure that in fact may only legally be performed in New York State by a licensed medical professional. This is a serious crime that could have had fatal consequences for the victim had she not sought legitimate medical assistance. Even doing so, she remains in a potentially life-threatening condition. District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Liliana Coello, 39, of 42-29 157th Street in Flushing, Queens. Coello was arraigned this afternoon before Queens Criminal Court Judge Suzanne Melendez on charges of second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and unauthorized practice of medicine. She was ordered held on $75,000 bail and to return to court on January 2, 2013. The defendant faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. The District Attorney said that, according to the criminal charges, a 40-year-old woman known to the District Attorneys office met with Coello on November 1, 2012, at her Flushing home, and was told that a buttocks enhancement procedure would cost $2,500 and that she had performed the procedure many times. Scheduling an appointment, it is alleged that the customer returned to Coellos home on the morning of November 3, 2012, and that the defendant, using a large needle, injected each of the customers buttocks multiple times with a clear gel-like substance that the defendant called expandable cellsand that after each injection the defendant kneaded the area to distribute the substance around the buttocks. It is alleged that the procedure lasted a few hours and when it was done the defendant covered the injection sites with bandages, gave the customer a girdle to wear for support, told her the pain would subside in three days and that some leakage was normal. The victim alleged she was given a discounted price and paid $2,300 for the procedure before leaving. Additionally, it is charged that the victim experienced daily redness, pain and swelling and (MORE)

-2called the defendant who told her not to worry. It is further charged that the victim returned to the defendants home on November 7, November 9 and November 11, 2012, complaining of pain and leakage each time, and that the defendant allegedly injected her buttocks with substances purported to be penicillin on November 7, with another substance on November 9, and on November 11 applied Krazy glue to the sites that were leaking. It is further alleged that on November 12, 2012, the victim continued to experience pain and leakage and was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital and diagnosed with massive cellulitis (infection) of the buttocks with chronic inflammatory response. She remained there for several days and was treated with antibiotics. The victim was subsequently released and then twice readmitted, each time for approximately one week. Finally, it is alleged that the doctors who treated the victim determined that she is experiencing a foreign body reaction to the injected substance, that the injected substance is migrating to other parts of her body, that she has been in constant pain and has difficulty sitting. A biopsy of the migrating substance determined that it is consistent with silicone and/or paraffin. Furthermore, according to the victims doctors, the substance in the victims body is potentially lifethreatening in that she can develop gangrene, that the substance could be carcinogenic, there can be vascular compromise of the leg which would affect the flow of blood, and further that the injected substance will pose a life-long issue because the complainant will need recurring hospitalization for treatment. The investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Devecchis of the New York City Police Departments Major Case Squad, under the supervision of Sergeant Frank Ventura and Lieutenant Christopher Flanagan. Assistant District Attorney Allison P. Wright, of the District Attorneys Economic and Environmental Crimes Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Christina Hanophy, Deputy Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni. It should be noted that criminal charges are merely an accusation and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. # Note to Editors: e-version of this press release is posted on www.queensda.org.