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Richie's wife busted
17/11/2004 07:04 - (SA)
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| Lionel Ritchie at a concert in Switzerland. (Georgios Kefalas, AP) |
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Los Angeles - Musical legend Lionel Richie's estranged wife has been arrested for allegedly allowing her boyfriend to turn her bathroom into an illegal cosmetic surgery clinic, officials said on Tuesday.
Diane Richie was charged with aiding and abetting Daniel Tomas Fuente Serrano by allowing him to inject patients with anti-wrinkle drugs, which were not approved by US drug regulators, in her Beverly Hills bathroom.
She spent a night in jail but was released on $25 000 bail at a court hearing late on Tuesday.
Serrano, who is not licensed to practice medicine in California, is accused of charging thousands of dollars to inject patients, including Grammy-award winner Lionel Richie, with anti-ageing drugs, court documents showed.
Diane Richie, who filed for divorce from her famous husband last year, was arrested on Monday and she and Serrano appeared in court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
While Diane Richie was bailed, Serrano was held pending the outcome of a bail hearing set for Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Joseph Johns said.
Authorities allege that Serrano, who went by the name of Dr Daniel, was licensed to practise medicine in Argentina but not in California, although he is registered here as a nurse.
Some developed complications
He is accused of injecting both male and female patients with either a Dutch drug or a cheaper Brazilian version aimed at reversing the ageing process without Federal Drug Administration approval.
The drug was allegedly either Artecoll, a collagen solution distributed by a Dutch company, or Metacrill, a similar but cheaper substance made by a Brazilian company, court papers said.
Serrano also allegedly charged thousands of dollars to inject the anti-wrinkle drug Botox, using Diane Richie's bathroom and other private homes as well as the office of a local aesthetician, the documents said.
Some of Serrano's patients developed complications from the injections, prosecutors allege.
One woman complained that she developed a lump on her lip that makes it difficult for her to drink and pronounce words, while another had what court papers describe as "holes in her face" following Serrano's treatment.
Singer Lionel Richie told investigators that he paid $600 or $700 for the injections from his wife's lover, but said he was unaware that Serrano was not a licensed physician, court papers stated.
An attorney for Richie could not be reached for immediate comment. Serrano's attorney, John Yzurdiaga, declined to comment.
Diane and Lionel Richie married in December 1996 and have two children.
- AFP
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