Arrested medical assistant's Botox not FDA-approved: police
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston police say illegal Botox injections that landed a medical assistant behind bars Wednesday may not have been real Botox.
Investigators with HPD's Major Offenders division seized the product they say Ricky Delatorre was using and it appears it is not approved to be used in the United States.
Eyewitness News has learned the label on the product is in Turkish and HPD says the labels of all FDA-approved products would be in English. Testing will determine if it is even Botox.
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On Thursday, we learned the 26-year-old man who presents himself on Instagram as an expert on injections, racking up more than 32,000 followers, was actively soliciting clients just before he was arrested at RD Aesthetica MedSpa in southwest Houston.
In the hours before Delatorre was taken into custody, he posted a video to his account.
"Oh, I love these lashes!" he exclaims. Now, Delatorre faces felony charges.
Houston police described Delatorre as a criminal who has been performing non-surgical cosmetic procedures, including injections like Botox, without a license or doctor's supervision.
When reporter Jessica Willey asked him about it, he denied the allegations.
Delatorre's clinic is associated with a medical doctor, as required by Texas law. When an undercover officer went in for a consultation, police say the doctor did not meet with him. He now faces a felony charge.
The product he was using may expose him to even bigger problems, say attorney Steve Shellist, who is not associated with the case.
"That's a big deal that's going to get people's attention," said Shellist. "It might be Botox. It might be better than what we have in the U.S. but it might be cut with something else. I wouldn't be surprised if the feds took an interest in this. It's about health and safety."
Delatorre's family declined to comment when reporter Steve Campion stopped by their house Thursday morning.
He'll eventually be booked into the Harris County Jail and appear in probable cause court.
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