He opened a fake Botox practice. Days out of prison, he tried it again, D.A. says
Within two weeks of an Orange County man's release from prison after serving a sentence for impersonating a medical professional and performing unlicensed cosmetic procedures, officials say he again attempted to open an illegal Botox practice.
Elias Renteria Segoviano, 63, is facing new charges after his probation officer noticed he had again attempted to rent out a space at the Phenix Salon Suites in Brea. It was there that he previously operated — illegally — a business called Botox in Anaheim, according to a news release from the Orange County district attorney.
Last month, prosecutors said, Segoviano provided the suite owners with a fake name and shared plans to perform Botox injections and face thread lifting — both of which require medical authorizations that Segoviano does not have. Segoviano also applied for a business license from the city of Brea, though it was denied, prosecutors said.
Segoviano, of Brea, was first arrested in July 2022 at the Phenix Salon, where officials said he targeted Spanish-speaking women and performed a range of cosmetic procedures on more than two dozen victims. Procedures included Botox and lip and face fillers that Segoviano admitted used potentially harmful and counterfeit drugs, according to the district attorney.
Read more: Orange County man charged with impersonating a doctor, performing cosmetic procedures on women
Segoviano later pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including the unauthorized practice of medicine, false indication of a medical license and perjury. He also pleaded guilty to misrepresenting himself as a licensed medical practitioner, the misrepresentation of qualifications and impersonating a professional nurse, all misdemeanors.
"Segoviano admitted performing invasive procedures and injecting victims with potentially counterfeit Botox, fillers, anesthetics, and other medical drugs that placed the public at extreme risk," the district attorney's statement said.
He was sentenced to four years but was released in December after earning credit for time served in jail before pleading guilty. After being freed, he was placed on community supervision.
About a month later, Segoviano was again arrested, and he remains in jail on $20,000 bail, prosecutors said. He has been charged with two felony counts of the unauthorized practice of medicine and one misdemeanor count of falsely representing himself as a licensed medical practitioner.
“This man walked the walk and talked the talk of being a licensed medical professional, but he was anything but what he pretended to be,” Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “The fact that he was out of prison less than two weeks — and while under supervision — when he returned right back to a life of crime makes it painfully obvious that he has no intention of changing his behavior and he will continue to try to make money off unsuspecting women every chance that he gets.”
The district attorney's office asked anyone who might have been treated by Segoviano to contact investigator Jesse Alfonzo at (714) 834-6538.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
