02x01 - Black Market Surgery

[bunniefuu]

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: We've been,
you know, waiting

for this moment for so long.

I start getting
anxious beforehand.

VOICE (over computer): Welcome.
Please take your ticket.
Please drive inside.

VAN ZELLER: So I don't
know a lot about this person.

I just know that
he's willing to talk.

I've reported on black
market surgeries overseas.

VAN ZELLER: But now, a
series of suspicious deaths.

VAN ZELLER: Have led
me home to America.

Where young women are checking
in for plastic surgery and

never checking out.

REPORTER (over TV): A
family is heartbroken.

REPORTER (over TV):
Is conducting a death
investigation.

REPORTER (over TV): Another
tragedy out of South Florida.

REPORTER (over TV): Patient
REPORTER (over TV): Range in
age from 29 to 35.

REPORTER (over TV):
31‐year‐old Latesha Bynum.

REPORTER (over TV):
Is in London.

REPORTER (over TV):
Kelly Mayhew.

REPORTE (over TV):
Danea Plasencia.

REPORTER (over TV):
Ria Valeria.

REPORTER (over TV): Died after
undergoing the same procedure.

VAN ZELLER: I followed a trail
of money, sex, and blood.

From the strip clubs of Atlanta

to a strip mall clinic in Miami.

And to these people
whose claims of greed‐driven

managers and dangerous
practices could destroy

an entire industry.

Why hasn't anyone come
out and spoken, like you?

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: I'll
just follow you.

NIKKI: About to have my
bubble scene with my man.

VAN ZELLER: My journey to
understand why so many young

women are dying starts here
on the set of a music video.

♪ Cold b*tch ♪

♪ And I'm from the 317 ♪

♪ Tall b*tch ♪

♪ Kick her a*s with a size 11 ♪

♪ No hoe sh*t ♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: So this is just
a little part of the video.

NIKKI: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: And this
one is called? The song?

VAN ZELLER: Nikki Sweets is an
up‐and‐coming hip hop artist

looking to leverage her
social media following
into global stardom.

NIKKI: The image that
people wanna see on TV

is the curvaceous woman.

The more curvaceous you are,
the more attractive you are to

the crowd that
you're selling to.

Like Nikki Minaj has the
fattest a*s and she's like the

biggest female artist.

VAN ZELLER: Ten years ago,
Nikki didn't have the money

for plastic surgery.

So she paid a stranger for
black market injections.

NIKKI: To get my a*s
done was only like $700.

VAN ZELLER: Wow.

NIKKI: One of the worst
experiences of my life.

It was very painful, because
I was up the whole time.

There was no numbing,
it was just, "Lay down.

I'm going to stick these needles
and I'mma fill you up."

And.

VAN ZELLER: What was it?
What was.

NIKKI: It was silicone.

It was silicone injected
into my a*s at that time.

Results were just like that.

VAN ZELLER: Really?
NIKKI: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: Like
the moment you left.

NIKKI: The moment it happened
I looked in the mirror and

my a*s was bigger.

VAN ZELLER: Wow.

Did you know what you
were getting yourself
into at the time?

Did you know
what it was going...

NIKKI: No.
VAN ZELLER: To feel like or.

NIKKI: I mean, people talk,
there was so many girls
that did it.

Years later I kept hearing
about girls dying from it.

Infections and stuff.

To this day, I
still get scared,

like, am I going to be next?

You know, like, is something
going to happen to me next?

VAN ZELLER: Like
any black market,

the trade in these ill*gal
injections is driven by demand.

And just like in
drugs or g*ns,

the transactions you
hear about are the
ones that go wrong.

REPORTER (over TV):
35‐year‐old Wakesha Reid died.

ANCHOR (over TV): She died afte
a silicone beauty injection.

REPORTER (over TV): Kelly Mayhe
died after a procedure in this.

REPORTER (over TV): 31‐year‐old
Latesha Bynum suffered

severe complications after
buttock enhancement injection.

VAN ZELLER: Behind every one of
these fatalities is a pumper,

a shadowy figure
illegally injecting women with

anything from medical
silicone to furniture polish.

How many people do you
think will be here tonight?

D'NISHA: Every
section is sold.

VAN ZELLER: Really?
D'NISHA: Yes.

VAN ZELLER: It's sold‐out?
D'NISHA: Yes.

VAN ZELLER: And
to find a pumper,

I thought I'd start by seeking
out women who rely on curves

to make a living.

How long have you been
waitressing here for?

D'NISHA: Since we
opened two years ago.

VAN ZELLER: So it's
gonna be a big night?

D'NISHA: Huge.

VAN ZELLER: My guide,
D'nisha Kidwell,

has offered to take
me on her rounds,

as she selects the dancers who
will work the floor tonight.

D'NISHA: This is
the dressing room.

VAN ZELLER: Whoa,
it's packed already.

Oh, wow. Hi.

DANCER: Hi.

VAN ZELLER: How are you?
DANCER: How are you?

VAN ZELLER: Hi.
How are you? Hi everyone.

DANCER: Hi.
VAN ZELLER: Hi.

DANCER: So cute.

D'NISHA: So these are the
outfits that they gave us.

If they don't
come with an outfit,

they have the option of
buying one here from her.

They just make
sure that they're...

VAN ZELLER: And it's.

D'NISHA: Well taken
care of for the night.

VAN ZELLER: For sale?
D'NISHA: Yes.

VAN ZELLER: They can
buy their stuff here?

D'NISHA: Yes. Yes.

VAN ZELLER: Competition
to work here is fierce.

Before any of these
dancers are hired,

they have to
pass a body check.

VAN ZELLER: Those women
selected will pay the club up

to $400 to dance here,
just for a single night.

D'NISHA: Okay, turn around.

All the way. Okay.

VAN ZELLER: Dancers jump
through these hoops because

the upside is enormous.

♪ I know you want me,
stand beside me ♪

VAN ZELLER: Attention.

♪ To make ♪

VAN ZELLER: Opportunity.

♪ Yourself ♪

VAN ZELLER: And a share.

♪ Feel ♪

VAN ZELLER: Of this.

♪ Like you're mine ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: On a good
night, a dancer can
clear up to $10,000.

All of which can make both
legal cosmetic surgery and

ill*gal procedures like
getting pumped seem like

a good idea.

All these women have big boobs
and big butts, right?

MAN: They're taking in their
waist or they're spreading out

their hips and really
getting those big butts.

VAN ZELLER: How many women
that work here do you think

have had plastic surgery or some
sort of body modifications?

MAN: It's, it's in
the 90% probably.

MAN 2: Yeah.
VAN ZELLER: 90%?
MAN: Yeah.

It's, basically you
just walking into the,

what you see on TV,
pretty much.

VAN ZELLER: And what
you see on TV and
social media is this.

Celebrities and influencers
with the kind of curves that

are inspiring a generation of
young women to buy the look

with cosmetic surgery.

In reality, changing the
shape of women's bodies
is not a new trend.

Back in the 1890s, Austrian
doctors first performed

breast augmentations using
injections of melted wax.

And through the 1940s,
Japanese sex workers were

pumped with industrial
silicone to increase their

earning power
with American GIs.

In both cases, the risks taken
by women proved disastrous.

WOMAN: (bleep).

(screaming).

D'NISHA: They like that.

VAN ZELLER: Are you happy
with how your body looks now?

D'NISHA: I am, but I'm going
to get a tune up and I'm going

to get some things readjusted.

VAN ZELLER: Yeah, I mean, you
look beautiful. I don't think
you need anything done.

D'NISHA: Thank you.
Thank you. But I just,
I just, it's just me.

VAN ZELLER: Uh‐huh.

D'NISHA: So, for me, if
I look in the mirror,

I wanna feel confident.

So that makes,
that helps me out.

And I feel like if my
confidence level is up here,

my money is up here.

VAN ZELLER: Have you
heard of women getting,

uh, butt injections?

D'NISHA: Yes.

VAN ZELLER: Did
you ever do that?

D'NISHA: No comment.

VAN ZELLER: Is that
something that when women,

if they get butt
inject, butt injections,

they usually don't
wanna talk about it?

D'NISHA: Um, yes.

Um, a lot of people
don't wanna talk about that.

VAN ZELLER:
Because it's not legal?

D'NISHA: Right.

VAN ZELLER: Um, do you
know anyone who gives shots?

D'NISHA: Gives them? No.

VAN ZELLER: I mean, we would
love to interview somebody who

gives shots and we wouldn't
show their face and we

wouldn't disclose
their identity.

And we would just
like to talk to them.

D'NISHA: Like, if I
knew who does them,

I couldn't tell you who it is.

VAN ZELLER: None of the women
at the club would connect us

to a pumper.

And that's not a surprise.

In this community, pumpers are
underworld figures who carry

status, cash, and g*ns.

SHEENA: I know a pumper.

They came in and they had g*ns
and they made sure they put

the g*ns right there
so we can see them.

VAN ZELLER: There's a
wall of fear out there.

And I'm hoping insiders and
former clients will help me

break through it.

Is she still injecting?

VANCIE (over computer):
Yes, she is.

VAN ZELLER: Do you think that
considering the fact that what

she's doing is ill*gal,
she will talk to us?

VANCIE (over computer): I know
that a lot of them won't.

VAN ZELLER: All I need is
the right introduction.

How would you even go
about here in Atlanta
to look for a pumper?

MARCELLA: There's no
benefit interviewing with you.

There's absolutely no benefit.

It's not even
worth it for them.

VAN ZELLER: How much money
do you think they're making?

SHEENA: Oh, my goodness
(bleep) told me she made

$1 million one year.

VAN ZELLER: No way.

So there's one very
famous pumper here in Atlanta.

SHEENA: Yes.

VAN ZELLER: That we
keep hearing about.

And I was wondering if you
think there's any way that we

could connect with her?

SHEENA (over phone): I really
think it's gonna be,

it's gonna be difficult.

VAN ZELLER: As any
journalist will tell you,

the harder you work,
the luckier you get.

And after scouring
this city for pumpers,

I finally find a lead.

So Jenny, we got your number
here in Atlanta from somebody

who said you've
been injected before?

JENNY (over phone):
Yeah, yeah, I have.

VAN ZELLER: And we've
been looking for somebody
that will talk to us.

JENNY (over phone): Oh, you
wanna talk to an injector?

VAN ZELLER: An injector
that would talk to us.

JENNY (over phone):
Yeah, I know someone.

JENNY (over phone):
You know what I mean?

VAN ZELLER: Yeah.
I mean, Jenny, it would be
great if you could reach out

to her and see
if we could talk.

You can tell her we're just
really interested in hearing

her side of the story,
why she does what she does.

VAN ZELLER: So, wait, so, is
it common that people sell

injectors' phone numbers?

JENNY (over phone):
It is common.

VAN ZELLER: Uh‐hmm. Yeah.

That's complicated because
we don't pay for interviews.

JENNY (over phone): Okay.
I have to get back to you.

I have to ask her if she's
okay with that first and then

I'll let you know.

VAN ZELLER: Okay.

(phone ringing).

When Jenny texts me back,
the news is even better
than I'd hoped for.

So supposedly
she's here already,

just have to figure
out exactly where.

Her contact, a legendary
Atlanta pumper named Ms. T

has agreed to a meeting.

Hey, yeah, so we
are here already.

But I'm not sure
where you are.

Do you see me?

Okay, is that you right here?

Yeah, okay, I see.

Yeah, okay, we'll follow you.

Ms. T is on her way
to inject a client.

And she's invited us to
witness a motel room procedure

that could land her
10 years in jail.

MS T: How you feel?

AMBER: I'm okay.

VAN ZELLER: Because when
things go wrong in this
business, people die.

MS T: You ready?

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: This is it.
We have someone.

Just make sure you
don't put the cameras
on the car, you know?

We don't wanna
make her nervous.

Ms. T has led us to a motel
on the outskirts of Atlanta.

She has set
conditions for filming.

She wants us to
conceal her voice,

her identity,
and her location.

At exactly 11pm, we are
to meet her in room 306.

♪ ♪

MS T: Take your body
closer to me this way.

Yeah, just like this.
This is fine.

VAN ZELLER: Ms. T has no
formal medical training.

What she's doing is
dangerous, sometimes lethal.

VAN ZELLER: And can
create health effects
that linger for years.

How many times have
you done this before?

VAN ZELLER: Amber is
transgender and these

injections will be a final
step in claiming a body she

has been looking
for her entire life.

But you are
aware of the risks?

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: Oh, my God.
Looks painful.

Ms. T tells me that she only
uses medical‐grade silicone

supplied to her
illegally by an actual doctor.

But in this underworld, a
pumper's integrity is the only

thing determining the quality
and content of the material

being pushed into the body.

So what's that?

VAN ZELLER: So that's it?
MS T: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: Wait,
and now you just get
dressed and you leave?

AMBER: Yeah.
VAN ZELLER: Hmm.

So the whole thing
took about 15 minutes?

MS T: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: What would you say
to people who would judge you

and say, "She's doing this
crazy procedure and it's so

dangerous and people are dying
and she must be really stupid

to be doing this"?

AMBER: Well, I know
I'm not stupid and so

I'd just tell those
people to kiss my a*s.

I shoulda used this body
during the summertime.

Now I will have to wait
to show it off again.

VAN ZELLER: Did you ever
think that you'd be working
in the underground?

MS T: Not in my
wildest dreams.

VAN ZELLER: Do you think
that had an influence on you

wanting to do cosmetic
procedures on other people?

MS T: Yes.
VAN ZELLER: Uh‐hmm.

How many people do you
think you've injected?

MS T: Oh, wow, I can't even,
hundreds, hundreds.

VAN ZELLER: What's the most
amount of people you ever did

in one day or one night?

MS T: About 40.

VAN ZELLER: 40 people?
MS T: Uh‐hmm.

VAN ZELLER: In, in one night?
MS T: Yes.

VAN ZELLER: How
much do you charge?

MS T: $1,000.

VAN ZELLER: So you made
$40,000 that one day?

VAN ZELLER: So it's
super easy money.

MS T: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: But
really risky too.

MS T: Very risky.
It's very, very risky. Yes.

VAN ZELLER: So
what changed in you?

VAN ZELLER: And this was
somebody that you were going

to inject and then
they robbed you?

MS T: Uh‐hmm. Tied me up,
beat me with a g*n.

VAN ZELLER: Because you
were carrying so much cash,

did you ever
carry a g*n with you?

VAN ZELLER: Okay.

VAN ZELLER: Knowing all the
risks involved and knowing how

there are people
who have died,

have you ever had any problems
with anyone you've injected?

VAN ZELLER: I
don't doubt Ms. T,

but it's not like there are
records kept of the negative

effects, which can
show up years later.

TIMOTHY: Very good.

VAN ZELLER: You could call it
the flipside of silicone pumping

or just another day at the
office for Dr. Timothy Katzen.

TIMOTHY: This patient had a
series of three sessions of

injections, consisting of
about 20 injections per side,

starting about ten years ago.

VAN ZELLER: Up to
seven times a week,

he tackles a job so dangerous
that most plastic surgeons

refuse to do it,

removing the silicone from
black market injections.

For patients who had been
seeking a cheap beauty fix,

this is where the
dream comes to die.

A warning, this is
about to get very graphic.

TIMOTHY: See all the stuff?
That's all silicone.

Sometimes the silicone
injectable will migrate.

If it goes into your heart,
you can have a heart attack.

If it goes into your brain,
you could have a stroke.

All the silicone is
just right at the surface,

trying to leak out.

VAN ZELLER:
Despite the dangers,

every night, pumpers
are out there pumping,

selling curves that are
pushed to us on social media.

I'm not immune to
these pressures either.

Over the past couple of years,
I've paid a doctor to inject

acids and toxins into my
face to make me look younger.

Botox, a procedure that
happens to be perfectly legal.

The methods and products
could not be more different.

But the
motivations are the same.

After all, who doesn't want
to look more attractive

or feel more confident?

The demand for plastic
surgery cuts across
all demographic lines.

But all too often, the
outcomes and risks of those

procedures depend on how much
the patient is able to pay.

In one corner of America, the
pressure for a perfect body

has become so great that
it's launched an entire

medical tourism industry.

Welcome to Miami.

The new home of cheap plastic
surgery and to a string of

suspicious deaths.

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: Until recently,
the high cost of plastic surgery

meant that the
only option for some patients

seeking exaggerated curves
were underground procedures,

like the silicone shots
I witnessed in Atlanta.

So this is where we've heard
there's a couple of these

surgery centers, which is sort
of strange because you usually

associate, you know,
plastic surgery to luxury.

Today, in strip malls on
the west side of Miami,

a new breed of legal
outpatient clinics has

emerged, offering layaway
plans and rock‐bottom prices.

There's a car arriving.

Well, there's a couple of
people waiting outside.

Many, if not most of the
clients you see coming in and

out of these clinics, seem to
be coming straight from the

airport, with
suitcases in tow.

So it's been 10 minutes
since I've been sitting here,

seeing a bunch of
women just go in and out.

I mean, it had been described
to us like a factory and

that's what it
feels like right now.

Along with breast
enhancements and tummy tucks,

these centers offer a
procedure that can provide

even more dramatic
results than silicone pumping.

It's the fastest‐growing
cosmetic surgery in America,

the Brazilian butt lift.

♪ ♪

The BBL sounds simple.

Suck out the fat from your
stomach and thighs where you

don't want it, and inject
it into your hips and butt,

where you do.

DR OKORO: This is done side.
These are done.

VAN ZELLER: Wow,
what a difference.

DR OKORO: We don't
wanna make it too big.

We wanna make it
like, look classy.

VAN ZELLER: In reality, it's
the most dangerous operation

in cosmetic surgery.

Like silicone, if fat is
injected in the wrong place,

it can k*ll the
patient almost instantly.

Dr. Stanley Okoro, a
board‐certified plastic surgeon

in Atlanta, trained 12 years
to avoid these pitfalls.

But the doctors in Miami's
bargain clinics are often
far less qualified.

DR OKORO: In the
United States of America,

any medical doctor
can do plastic surgery.

VAN ZELLER: So a pediatrician
could do plastic surgery.

DR OKORO: That's correct.

A pediatrician can
do cosmetic surgery.

VAN ZELLER: And these doctors
that aren't plastic surgeons,

how much training are they
getting before they operate?

DR OKORO: There are all kinds
of weekend courses that these

doctors can take
on, in a hotel.

It's like a cookbook.

The problem is, if you get
into a problem and it's
not in the cookbook.

VAN ZELLER: What
do you do then? Yeah.

DR OKORO: He call 911.

VAN ZELLER: Right.

REPORTER (over TV): An
investigation is just beginning

after a woman died
following plastic surgery.

REPORTER (over TV):
Heather Meadows died during a
Brazilian butt lift.

REPORTER (over V):
Danea Plasencia died after

undergoing a
Brazilian butt lift.

REPORTER (over TV): She's one
of more than a dozen women who

died after undergoing the same
procedure in South Florida.

VAN ZELLER: Hi.
How are you?

CAROLINA: How are you?
VAN ZELLER: Good.

I'm Mariana.
So nice to meet you.

CAROLINA: Carolina.
Nice to meet you.

VAN ZELLER: Thank you
so much for having me.

CAROLINA: My grandma, Mariana.

(speaking Spanish).

VAN ZELLER: Oh, yes,
you're called Mariana also.

MARIANA: Mariana.
VAN ZELLER: Oh.

In 2016, Carolina Flores'
sister, Maria Christian,

saved up for a
tummy tuck to hide the

stretch marks from giving
birth to her second child.

VAN ZELLER: What clinic?
What center did she go to?

CAROLINA: Vanity. Before, I
believe they were called Encore.

VAN ZELLER:
Shortly after leaving,

I received an
email from Carolina,

which contained this police
report of her sister's death.

It says that when EMS
arrived at the clinic,

they were denied access
for at least five minutes.

Why?

What could possibly be
more important than letting

paramedics into that building?

Okay, so you see that one?

I'm gonna try and go inside to
see if I can get a consultation.

JEROME: Here we are in
Miami in a typical strip mall.

VAN ZELLER: Right.

And not where you'd
expect a medical facility
to be at, right?

JEROME: Absolutely.

VAN ZELLER: These strip mall
surgery centers in Miami are

promising beauty on the cheap.

But I want to know why
their patients are dying
in alarming numbers.

When did this all
start, these clinics?

JEROME: They started exploding
in numbers ten years ago and

it's just gotten bigger
and bigger and bigger.

VAN ZELLER: To hit
the ground running,

I'm piggybacking on the
investigations of three people,

medical malpractice
lawyer Andres Beregovich,

who has launched a number of
lawsuits against these clinics.

Jerome Hill, a former cop and
former investigator for the

Florida Department of Health.

And Florida State Senator
Anitere Flores who has passed

a bill requiring
stricter regulations.

ANITERE: This is something that
has become a national problem.

VAN ZELLER: They're
giving me a crash course
in a cottage industry

that appears to be operating
at the margins of the law.

What's the clientele?

Who are the people
coming to these centers?

ANITERE: These are people
from across the country.

VAN ZELLER: Uh‐hmm.

ANITERE: That are being,
I would say, preyed upon.

We'll have hospital
executives that'll tell us,

"Oh, yeah.

You know we have a couple
patients a week that come in

from that
plastic surgery place,

but we can't do
anything about it."

JEROME: We're gonna go in
here and see a particular

problematic surgery center
that has given the state,

and more importantly, the
citizens of Florida some

consternation and.

VAN ZELLER: That
one over there?

JEROME: Yeah.

VAN ZELLER: Jolie?
JEROME: Yes.

VAN ZELLER: Jolie, the clinic
formerly known as Vanity,

where Maria Christian died.

After the incident, the clinic
issued a statement claiming

they followed
standard procedures.

But a pending malpractice
lawsuit against Vanity and

Maria's doctor
alleges otherwise.

And Maria's death is not
a stand‐alone incident.

So how many deaths
have happened here?

JEROME: Jolie Center and
their affiliate has had
eight deaths right now.

VAN ZELLER: Just in six years?

JEROME: That's
just astronomical.

VAN ZELLER: That's right.

Eight deaths between 2013 and
2018 have been linked to this

clinic, which
operated first as Encore ,

then as Vanity ,
and now as Jolie .

Local media reports that
nearly a dozen other women

have also suffered
serious injuries.

ANDRES: When
there's too much heat,

they just close, then reopen,
same location. It's crazy.

VAN ZELLER: A 2019 exposé by
The Naples Daily News and

USA Today had this to
say about the deaths,

name changes, and the
clinic's de facto owner,

Ismael Labrador.

"Seven of the women who died
were working‐class Hispanics

and African‐Americans, groups
targeted by the clinics'

advertising campaigns.

While deaths and
injuries mounted,

the names of the clinics
were changed three
times since 2016.

But one person has
remained at the center,

Dr. Ismael Labrador.

To get a sense of
how Labrador operates,

we conducted a records
request from the state's
Department of Health.

What we learned is that
although the clinic changed

names over the years,
from Vanidades , to Encore ,

to Vanity , to Eres ,
to Jolie Plastic Surgery ,

many of the surgeons and some
of the staff stayed the same.

Even the human resources rep
who registered the staff and

the surgeons with the
Department of Health remained

the same, though her email
address changed frequently

over the years.

And Labrador is not the only
clinic operator who has

come under scrutiny.

USA Today reported that at
least 13 women have died at

four other Florida
plastic surgery centers.

How difficult do you think it
is to find somebody sort of

working inside these
clinics to talk to us,

about how, what the
reality is inside?

JEROME: I think you're
gonna find it very difficult.

VAN ZELLER: A toxic
stew was brewing here,

with lax regulations,
dangerous practices,

and untold
millions to be made.

The more I learn, the
less I'm surprised by the
growing list of fatalities.

Okay, so you see that one?

I wanna try and go inside and
see if I can get a consultation.

Unfortunately, we're not
allowed to go in with cameras.

It's against the
law in Florida.

According to USA Today
and
Naples Daily News investigation

the Florida Health Department
has investigated at least

six deaths and serious injuries
at Labrador's clinics,

many of which were avoidable
and the result of mistakes.

In four of the BBL fatalities
at Labrador clinics.

USA Today reported that doctors
injected fat in the wrong place,

k*lling their
patients within minutes.

We tried to reach the Florida
Department of Health for

a comment and yet,
after months of emails,

calls, and many
unanswered voicemails,

they said they were
unable to comment because
of confidentiality.

So perhaps it's not surprising
that little has been done

despite the fatalities.

So they actually said
that everything is
done over the phone.

RECEPTIONIST (over phone):
Hi, hello?

VAN ZELLER: Good.
How are you doing?

RECEPTIONIST (over phone):
Very well, yourself?

VAN ZELLER: Good. I have a few
questions for you about BBLs.

Do you mind if I record this?

RECEPTIONIST (over phone):
Yeah, go ahead.

So which doctor are
you looking into?

VAN ZELLER: Who does the
cheapest procedure there,
the cheapest BBL?

RECEPTIONIST (over phone):
The cheapest right now it's

Dr. (bleep) and
(bleep) both at 3,500.

VAN ZELLER: I'm
not really sure.

I've heard good things
about Dr. (bleep)

RECEPTIONIST (over phone): Yeah
He's one of the leading doctors
here as far as demand goes.

Dr. (bleep) has his
BBLs right now at 5,700.

VAN ZELLER: 5,700.

And how many procedures does
Dr. (bleep) do on average a day?

Just so I get an, a
sense of his experience.

RECEPTIONIST (over phone):
On average a day?

Roughly, I think
about six to eight.

VAN ZELLER: Wow, that's a lot.

RECEPTIONIST (over phone): Yup.

That's, that's the
limit for procedures
in a day for a doctor.

VAN ZELLER: Wow.
Okay. Sounds good.

Actually, if they're talking
about six to eight BBLS a day,

it sounds anything but good.

I checked with a handful of
experts including Dr. Okoro,

the board‐certified
plastic surgeon in Atlanta,

who all say that three to four
BBLS is the maximum number a

plastic surgeon could
safely do in one day.

So how could anyone handle
a caseload double the size?

Other sources we spoke with
said it wasn't unusual for

surgeons at Jolie or previously
at Encore and Vanity ,

to schedule as
many as 10 BBLS a day.

Finally, we actually got
somebody willing to talk to us.

A search for former employees
leads me to Gena Hitchens who

worked at Jolie as
a surgical coordinator.

She's promised to meet me,
though she's warned us,

that she still
works in the industry,

and needs to choose
her words carefully.

Have you ever been there
in one of these cases where

things went terribly wrong?

♪ ♪

♪ Bottles and models ♪

♪ Lil' mama look fit ♪

♪ I'mma hit like a throttle ♪

♪ She make it drop
like a switch ♪

♪ I won't see her tomorrow ♪♪

VAN ZELLER: So Gena,
tell me how you first
heard about these clinics.

GENA: I started working
at Jolie Plastic Surgery .

VAN ZELLER: Uh‐hmm.

GENA: And that was my
first step into the
plastic surgery world.

VAN ZELLER: How many
clinics have you worked at?

GENA: Four.

VAN ZELLER: Have you ever been
there in one of these cases

where things went
terribly wrong?

GENA: Umm...

Yes, but I can't talk about it.

VAN ZELLER: More than once?
GENA: No.

VAN ZELLER: Was it a death?

GENA: I'm not able
to speak about it.

VAN ZELLER: Is a doctor
actually capable of performing

eight procedures in a day?

GENA: I think once you start
getting into the high numbers

is when you start
looking for problems.

Or problems start
looking for you.

VAN ZELLER: So why are they
doing so many procedures a day?

GENA: Yeah.

I don't know that that's a
question I wanna answer.

VAN ZELLER: But do you think a
doctor is capable of operating

and doing eight BBLs a day?

GENA: They do it.

VAN ZELLER: How
long does a BBL take?

GENA: The average BBL would
probably be three and a half

to four hours.

VAN ZELLER: Of course, a
surgeon wouldn't need to be in

the room the entire time.

But from our research, the
two main procedures in a BBL,

liposuction and fat transfer
take between two and
three hours.

So a surgeon doing eight BBLS
in a day would be facing

16 to 24 hours of surgery.

I guess the math then
just doesn't add up.

So it's impossible for a doctor
to be performing eight of

these a day.

GENA: Nothing is impossible.

VAN ZELLER: So pretty.
It's like...

ANDRES: It's like
a little oasis.

VAN ZELLER: With business
booming at these clinics,

lawyer Andres Beregovich who's
launched a number of cases

against these clinics, wants to
give me a sense of just how much

money these clinic
owners are making.

Look at that.
Guy on a horse.

I'm most interested in
one man in particular,

Dr. Ismael Labrador, the
reported owner and operator of

Jolie and other
cosmetic surgery centers.

What is this?

ANDRES: These are stables,
part of an equestrian center

owned by Ismael Labrador
and his wife.

It just goes to show you
the significance of the money

that's generated by
these surgery centers.

They're cash cows.

VAN ZELLER: In 2007, Dr.
Labrador was arrested on

felony charges for allowing
unlicensed workers to perform

medical procedures.

The felony charges were
dropped after he entered a

court diversion program and he
went on to start a string of

discount plastic
surgery centers.

Here he is, in a 2018
deposition for a case where

a woman was injured during a
procedure at one of his clinics,

a lawsuit that
has since been settled.

INTERVIEWER: Specifically,
what administrative tasks did

you have control over?

(speaking Spanish).

TRANSLATOR: The
hours, the salary.

(speaking Spanish).

TRANSLATOR: The
employees' qualifications.

VAN ZELLER: In past
written statements,

Labrador has said
doctors, not clinic owners,

are responsible for patient
care and that all the doctors

he's hired have met
the requirements of the
state licensing board.

He's also claimed that the
frequent name changes at his

clinics were made for
marketing purposes,

not to avoid
legal responsibility.

We reached out to
him for comment.

He denied being the owner of
Jolie and responded with a

request for $25,000 to
sit for an interview,

and that's when we
found a new source.

So I don't know a
lot about this person,

I just know that
he's willing to talk.

He's very, very nervous and
anxious and super worried

about not
revealing his identity.

I'm hoping he'll be able to
help me unravel the inner

workings of these
discount surgery clinics.

VOICE (over computer): Welcome.
Please take your ticket.
Please drive inside.

VAN ZELLER: I think he's here.
I think that's him.

Yeah, it's definitely him.

So, thanks for meeting us.

To protect the
identity of Juan Carlos,

there's little I
can say about him,

other than he has spent time
working at Jolie and a number

of other clinics,
which we have verified.

We've been trying for months
and months and months to try

to get somebody to talk to us.

So I really appreciate this.

VAN ZELLER:
Reluctantly, but you accepted.

Why did you accept?

♪ ♪

VAN ZELLER: What exactly
happens in these places?

VAN ZELLER: Ten to 12
patients per day, per
doctor, per surgeon?

VAN ZELLER: As a
surgical coordinator,

Juan Carlos was in charge of
scheduling these surgeries for

a handful of doctors.

Although he worked in the
admin offices upstairs,

he said he made daily trips to
the operating rooms downstairs.

And routinely saw surgeons
running multiple operating

rooms at the same time.

That meant that they weren't
on hand for the entirety of

the procedures.

If that's true, then logically
it must mean that the

operating room assistants,
called surgical techs,

are doing at least
part of these procedures.

Juan Carlos brought videos he
claims to have captured on his

phone that seem
to show just that.

Due to patient privacy, Juan
Carlos would not allow us to

share the footage.

Though we can't
independently confirm the
authenticity of the videos,

in one of them, the staff
uniforms clearly say Jolie .

Oh, what's happening here?

VAN ZELLER: And then
what happens if something,

you know, if one of
the surgeries gets,

you know, complicated?

VAN ZELLER: And considering
the amount of deaths,

why hasn't anyone come
out and spoken, like you?

VAN ZELLER: But you've
felt some sort of guilt, right?

Or else you
wouldn't be here now.

Or remorse or.

VAN ZELLER: Nobody gives a
(bleep) about you, patients.

The deeper I dug
into this world,

nothing felt more
honest than that statement.

I presented
Jolie's de facto owner,

Ismael Labrador, with
Juan Carlos' claims.

Through his lawyer, he
denied that surgical techs are

performing the surgeries and
has threatened legal action.

It took me six months to track
down a former employee willing

to speak on camera.

KAYLA (over computer): I mean,
there's a lot of people that
know about it

and are afraid to speak
and I'm not one of them.

They can come find
me for all I care.

VAN ZELLER: Kayla worked
as a medical assistant at

Labrador's clinic when it
was called Vanity and Encore ,

but before it was named Jolie .

How long were you there for?

KAYLA (over computer):
Two years.

VAN ZELLER: What kind of
patients did you guys see there?

KAYLA (over computer): We would
have patients from everywhere
that would come in.

Obviously because of
this affordable pricing,

they were coming
out of the state,

coming from another country.

Yeah.

It was a variety of patients.

VAN ZELLER: And once those
patients went in for surgery,

what Kayla describes fits a
similar pattern of behavior

that we heard from Juan Carlos
as well as multiple others who

worked at Labrador's clinics
and spoke to us off the record.

Doctors running
multiple operating rooms,

and not being present for
portions of risky operations.

KAYLA: There's more than
one operating room for sure.

There were multiple
surgeries happening at once.

We had at least five
to six operating rooms.

VAN ZELLER: Florida law
requires that anyone assisting

or participating in any surgical
procedure must have, quote,

"Direct and immediate
supervision of a
licensed physician."

So would a surgeon overseeing
multiple operating rooms

qualify as direct and
immediate supervision?

I called former Department
of Health inspector,

Jerome Hill to ask
him this very question.

He believes the current
law gives these clinics

too much wiggle room.

JEROME (over phone): Given the
fact that you can have some typ

of medical procedure in one
room and the supervision is

in another room two doors
down, it is a stretch,

it is the
latitude that they give,

the medical doctors here in
Florida that it is so gross it

leaves an opening for
malpractice by these doctors.

And it puts, more
importantly, the citizens
of Florida in jeopardy.

VAN ZELLER: Three
board‐certified doctors we

spoke with all agree that
from a medical perspective,

a surgeon must be in the room
the entire procedure in order

to ensure a patient's safety.

Anything less than that,
especially with a procedure

like a BBL is unusual
and undoubtedly dangerous.

The picture of this industry
painted by the many people we

spoke with is grim.

Which means that unless
regulators step in or society

stops pressuring women to
chase those perfect curves,

these tragedies are
likely to continue.

VAN ZELLER: I mean, it's not
even about the patient's life

anymore, right?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪