Man Arrested In Doral For Practicing Medicine Without A License
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A man has been arrested in Doral for practicing medicine without a license.
Samir El Charif advertised his services on Instagram and called himself a doctor who offered Botox, fillers and many other cosmetic procedures.
Doral Police Capitan Carlos Arango says Mr. Samir El Charif, "is not a licensed medical doctor in any place in the United States. He's not licensed anywhere in the world that we've been able to identify. At this time it is our belief that he has no medical license whatsoever and possibly may have some limited medical training from Venezuela."
Charif allegedly practiced medicine at a clinic, located at 3900 Northwest 79th Avenue #233, and at 2670 Northwest 97th Avenue in Doral.
Neighbors in the warehouse type complex on 97th Avenue had no idea that Charif was practicing medicine and said they were surprised.
At the second location on 79th Avenue the sign outside the office read clinical drug trial research center -- but police say Charif was practicing medicine.
The Florida Department of Health received a complaint in early February.
A multi-agency team consisting of the Miami-Dade Police Department's Medical Crimes Unit, Florida Department of Health, U.S. Immigration Customs & Enforcement, Federal Drug Administration, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, Doral Code Enforcement, and the Doral Police Department joined forces to investigate the allegation.
Undercover detectives contacted Mr. Charif by telephone to arrange an appointment.
Detectives met with Mr. Charif at his clinic and agreed on a medical procedure. Detectives then arrested Mr. Charif and charged him with the felony crime of Practicing Medicine Without a License and other related charges.
Doral police say unlicensed doctors are not bargain doctors; they are simply not doctors.
Medical procedures can have lasting and damaging effects if done wrong.
You can check to make sure a doctor is licensed by viewing the license information of their health care practitioner at the Florida Health Department website www.flhealthsource.gov/ula
Or if you have a complaint, you may file it anonymously by completing and mailing the complaint form on the Florida Department of Health's Web site, calling 1-877-HALT-ULA, or emailing HALTULA@flhealth.gov.