Fake Doctor Pleads Guilty After Botched Cosmetic Surgeries

TUCSON - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today Gustavo Nunez pleaded guilty to 28 felony charges for performing illegal liposuction procedures. Seven victims had procedures performed by Nunez in Tucson between 2012 and 2014.  Three victims had to be hospitalized after botched surgeries and one sustained life-threatening injuries.

In August 2013, Nunez was arrested after two women reported to local hospitals with serious aggressive infections stemming from liposuction procedures performed by Nunez. An investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Tactical Diversion Squad in Tucson revealed that Nunez was not a doctor and had no official medical training. After the news broke of Nunez’s arrest, more women came forward stating they had procedures performed by Nunez.

DEA agents served a search warrant on his business in Tucson. Nunez’s office had been set up to look like a professional doctor’s office complete with operating table, medical equipment, and cabinets stocked with prescription medications. Nunez was released on bond shortly after his arrest.

In June 2014, a woman was dropped off at a Tucson hospital after Nunez had attempted to perform liposuction on her and she stopped breathing. An investigation by the Pima County Sheriff's Office revealed Nunez did not seek medical care for her for almost an hour while she had multiple seizures and she suffered from lack of oxygen to the brain. The woman spent the next six weeks in a coma suffering from a brain injury. She now has permanent stroke-like symptoms. Nunez was arrested again and held without bond.

Nunez will be sentenced in Pima County Superior Court on August 7, 2017 at 1:30 p.m.

Arizona Assistant Attorneys General Jordan Emerson and Joshua Moser are prosecuting this case.