The FBI, Arizona Attorney General’s Office, and the Arizona Health Care Fraud Task Force are looking for the public’s assistance to identify victims of individuals suspected of engaging in the practice of medicine by a person not licensed.
Ivonne Clarisa Ceballos Tapia and Perla Guadalupe Rubio Prado travel from Mexico to Tucson to perform cosmetic surgical procedures that enlarge the buttocks area via injections of a non-approved FDA substance called polyacrylamide hydrogel (PAAH). PAAH is banned in the United States and should not be used in any medical procedure, including cosmetic surgical injections. Additionally, neither Ms. Tapia nor Ms. Prado is licensed to perform any surgical procedure in Arizona. Any person who has been treated by Ms. Tapia or Ms. Prado with PAAH is encouraged to seek medical treatment by a currently licensed and certified medical doctor.
At this point in the investigation, the AG’s office and the FBI are working together to identify and notify victims. Those who believe they may have been patients of Tapia and/or Prado are being encouraged to come forward, not only to aid investigators, but potentially seek services through our Victim Witness Assistance Program.
If you have information about this ongoing investigation regarding Ms. Tapia and/or Ms. Prado or believe you have been a surgical patient of either of them, please contact the FBI at 520-623-4306 or Assistant Attorney General Mike Jette at 520-628-6504.