A San Jose couple has been arrested on charges of running an illegal Botox operation from their home.
Prosecutors are using the alleged crime to highlight the risk of using someone who is not licensed, adding it is not worth whatever discount the patient might be getting because the result could be deadly.
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WATCH HERE"This isn't like going to the hairdresser and getting a new haircut or new manicure," Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Ann Huntley said. "This is a medical procedure. Any time someone injects something in your body, you are undergoing a medical procedure."
Investigators said 45-year-old Monica Canales and 48-year-old James Carey were performing the treatment inside their home on Freeman Avenue near Alum Rock Park. Both Canales and Carey are charged with practicing medicine without a license.
The procedures were performed in a garage and other parts of the home where investigators reportedly found Botox and syringes, officials said.
At least six victims have come forward. Each count carries a maximum of three years in prison and prosecutors fear there could be many more victims out there.
Neighbors were shocked to hear what prosecutors said was happening nearby.
"I never thought they would do something illegal," neighbor Thao Huang said. "It really surprises me."
No one answered the door at the accused couple's home when an NBC Bay Area crew knocked on Tuesday.
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SIGN UP Meanwhile, Huntley said she cannot emphasize enough the dangers of having these procedures done by someone who is not a doctor.
"When some of that foreign substance gets into circulating blood, you have what is called an embolism," Huntley said. "It can lodge in your brain and cause a stroke. If it goes to your heart, it can cause a heart attack. You can die. This is deadly stuff."
The district attorney also worries there are more unlicensed people offering the same illegal and potentially deadly procedures across the county, state and country.
