A Queens beautician was arrested for posing as a doctor who promised to eliminate fat from overweight patients – a scheme authorities say was really designed to help her get rich by performing liposuction on their wallets.
Marcia Cabrera, 41, a state-licensed cosmetologist, ran Marcia’s Vasco Nail Salon on 82nd Street in Jackson Heights, but inside a back office she had allegedly set up a bogus medical practice devoted to helping her patients loose weight, authorities said.
When detectives raided the site Thursday afternoon, they found all the equipment and supplies of a real doctor’s office, a source said.
Outside the office door were signs in Spanish that read, “Cellulite Repair,” “Aesthetic Massage to Reduce Loose Skin,” and “Treatment with Paper Wrap to Lose Water,” said Nicole Navas, a spokesperson for Queens DA Richard Brown.
Cabrera, a Peruvian national, has been running her alleged scheme for about three years, and treated hundreds of patients, a source said.
All her patients were promised that the injections they received would help them get thinner, but there’s no evidence her efforts had medically proven results, authorities said.
“She gave people injections of silicone and other liquids that were supposed to reduce fat,” explained Sgt. Buddy Murnane, of the NYPD Major Case Squad.