Not guilty plea in liposuction case

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A man accused of performing liposuction without a medical license, as well as charges including assault and grand theft, pleaded not guilty in San Francisco.

Carlos Guzmangarza, 49, was arrested Dec. 22. He faces as much as 12 years in state prison if convicted on charges of practicing medicine without a license, assault with force most likely to cause great bodily harm, battery causing serious bodily harm, false impersonation, identity theft and grand theft, prosecutors said.

He allegedly posed as a physician's assistant while performing cosmetic surgery on a woman and treating her daughter for acne, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.

In addition to allegedly operating a phony clinic, Guzman Garza is accused of stealing the identity of a physician's assistant, and operating the clinic under the pretense that it was operated by a medical doctor.

Prosecutors said Guzmangarza performed liposuction on a Daly City, Calif., woman in 2010, smoking a cigar as he worked and getting the patient – who was conscious during the procedure – to hold an IV bag. Prosecutors said the woman became infected after the procedure and saw a legitimate doctor, before she learned Guzmangarza did not have a medical license, the newspaper reported.

A spokesman for the Medical Board of California said officials were "very happy to get this person off the street."