(Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman in New York City is reportedly near death after a fake doctor botched a home surgery. According to the New York Times, Felipe Hoyos Foronda is in police custody after attempting to flee the country. Meanwhile, the district attorney of Queens has said the victim is “not likely to survive.”
NYT reports that Felipe Hoyos Foronda previously operated his makeshift clinic out of a brick house in a well-maintained residential street in Astoria, Queens. Foronda had reportedly told paying patients that he was a certified doctor in Columbia, per the New York Post.
The victim in this story had apparently paid the fake doctor to remove her butt implants. She visited his clinic between 1 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. on the day of the incident. During the illegal procedure, Foronda allegedly used a syringe to inject her with an anesthetic that led to lidocaine toxicity. Ultimately, she went into cardiac arrest, and FDNY EMS reportedly rushed her to Mount Sinai Queens Hospital. It’s unclear who called the ambulance.
While the woman is receiving actual medical care, the criminal complaint in the case said her state was critical. Additionally, the report said the 31-year-old female had “no brain activity” and had to be intubated. At this time, her identity is not known to the public, and officials have not released other updates on her health.
A friend of the woman alerted the police about the clinic after coming to scoop the woman from the makeshift clinic and learning that her surgery went wrong. After police arrived at the scene, they interviewed the fake doctor’s landlord, who provided a physical description and photo of him.
Hours after the botched surgery on March 28, cops tracked Felipe Hoyos Foronda using his license plate. He was en route to the John F. Kennedy Airport. With the help of the Port Authority, officials were able to locate and arrest the fake doctor inside the airport. The New York City menace had been trying to fly out of the U.S. to Columbia. However, police reportedly caught the 38-year-old as he attempted to board his connecting flight to Florida.
As of last Thursday (April 3), Felipe Hoyos Foronda was still in police custody with no bond, per NYT. Additionally, the fake doctor was arraigned on federal charges related to the botched surgery on March 30, per USA Today.
Officials have charged him with second-degree assault and practicing medicine without a license. USA Today reports that the court appointed him a public defender ahead of his next appearance on April 28 in Queens County Criminal Court.
