MONTEREY PARK >> Federal investigators arrested a Monterey Park woman Thursday who they say injected an “unknown substance” into another woman’s buttocks as a cosmetic procedure, which ultimately required major surgery to correct.
Ana Bertha Diaz Hernandez, 47, was arrested Thursday afternoon following the filing of a criminal complaint charging her with receipt of an adulterated and misbranded medical device, misbranding prescription drugs and smuggling.
The complaint alleged Hernandez injected a victim with the substance four times, starting in late-2015 and continuing into 2016 at a detached “treatment room” behind Hernandez home in the 600 block of South Garfield Avenue. The victim, identified in court documents as “I.T.,” suffered serious complications from the injection, and the substance had to be removed through a major operation. Additional treatment is also needed in the future.
“During a series of treatments that cost thousands of dollars, (Hernandez) explained to I.T. that she was injecting a ‘natural product,’ at points claiming the injections were ‘lamb’s fat,” U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek said in a written statement.
The victim paid more than $5,000 to Hernandez for the procedures, which were intended to maker her buttocks appear “bigger and plump,” according to the complaint.
The woman who received the injection contacted the California Department of Consumer Affair’s Operation Safe Medicine Unit in late-2016 after developing pain.
“I.T. stated that the product (Hernandez) had injected into her buttocks had migrated to her ‘back, hips and legs,” Mrozek said. The woman ultimately received an operation from a doctor specializing in reversing cosmetic procedures.
The victim met Hernandez through a friend, who recommended Hernandez’s services, according to an affidavit filed in support of the case. Hernandez described herself as an esthetician and claimed she had been trained to do the injection procedure by a doctor in Mexico.
“(Hernandez) told I.T. that the product was safe and will stay in place until the day she dies,” the affidavit states. “(Hernandez) told I.T. that she has used the product on herself and others.
The suspects further told I.T. that she obtains the substance from Mexico, and that, “the product is so popular that she had to leave the country to by some more.”
The exact substance injected by Hernandez has not been determined, but it is believed to have been silicone, officials said. Silicone has never been approved by the FDA for body contouring purposes, and is considered dangerous even if administered by a doctor.
“Included among the risks of such injections are the potential of injection into a blood vessel resulting in embolism, migration of injected silicone to other bodily regions and resultant interference with organs and bodily systems, serious sepsis infection and infection-related disorders, silicone-filled scar tissue formations, necrosis, skin discoloration, immune system hyperactivity and related adverse systemic conditions, disfigurement, discomfort and pain,” according to the criminal complaint.
If convicted as charged, Hernandez faces up to 26 years in federal prison. She was scheduled to make her initial court appearance Friday in federal court in Los Angeles.