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DISTRICT ATTORNEYQUEENS COUNTY

125-01 QUEENS BOULEVARD

KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415-1568

718-286-6000

Release #168-2012

www.queensda.org

RICHARD A.BROWNDISTRICT ATTORNEY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: KEVIN RYAN

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2012 HELEN PETERSON

MERIS CAMPBELL

(718) 286-6315

QUEENS WOMAN ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES OF UNLAWFULLY

PRACTICING MEDICINE AND SERIOUSLY INJURING PATIENT

AllegedlyPerformed 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 buttocksenhancement 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 JudgeSuzanne 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

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called 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 life-

threatening 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 andEnvironmental 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 arepresumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Note to Editors: e-version of this press release is posted on www.queensda.org.

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