30-04-2025
Horror details of how glam young mum died during BBL 'from fake doctor'
Horror details have emerged of how a young mum-of-two died during a botched BBL surgery after allegedly being operated on by a fake doctor. María Paz Peñaloza visited Felipe Hoyos-Foronda, 37, from New York, on March 28 to remove her butt implants after he reportedly posed as a plastic surgeon on TikTok.
The 31-year-old visited the so-called clinic for the £1,400 procedure when Hoyos-Foronda, who claimed to be a certified doctor from Colombia, administered lidocaine to Peñaloza through a syringe. Within minutes of being injected with the local anaesthetic to numb the area, María suffered a cardiac arrest. She was rushed to the hospital but died two weeks later after her life support was turned off as she had "no brain activity", her heartbroken family said.
According to a complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court, the fake doctor told police how the mum "stopped speaking" during surgery. "After I injected her, she started to speak funny, and then she stopped speaking," Hoyos-Foronda reportedly told investigators. "Slurred speech is normal during this type of anesthesia, even though it's local. After she tightened up, she didn't respond. She had low pressure and a low pulse. I administered CPR."
After his patient suffered devastating complications, he immediately booked a flight back to Colombia on March 28 because he knew he was not legally able to practice medicine in the US.
"I showed paramedics. I am not a licensed doctor here. I understand I am not allowed to practice medicine,' he told authorities. "I booked the flight while I was driving,' he allegedly told investigators. "I was going to go back to Colombia."
Hoyos-Foronda was apprehended by police before he was able to get on his flight, the court heard. "Moments before he was able to board that flight, police officers apprehended this defendant on the Starbucks line," Assistant District Attorney Gregory Lasak said.
Hoyos-Foronda told police he had performed the BBL before on other patients "hundreds of times" and had been practicing at his home "for a few months."
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said they were unclear how Hoyos-Foronda was able to access the drug.
"Please be careful,' she advised. "We've had several of these cases here in Queens where people hold themselves out to be medical professionals but indeed they are not certified." She urged anyone who also had treatment by Hoyos-Foronda to come forward.
The victim's mum, Gladys Cabrera, wants to see the fake medic "go to jail." She told the New York Post: "He's dangerous to the society.. She didn't deserve this."
Meanwhile, her husband of three years said he had no idea she had gone to the makeshift clinic, telling the outlet: "We had been married for three years. I did not know that she was going for this procedure."
Hoyos-Foronda is expected back in court on June 3 and faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
