When Medical Board of California (MBC) investigators learned two individuals at a medispa in Los Angeles might be practicing medicine without a license, one of them went undercover and posed as a patient.  The investigator went in to iLaser MediSpa on Olympic Boulevard and requested Botox.  A registered nurse provided the treatment without a doctor’s order, according to a MBC news release.

Investigators confronted Michael William Smith whose name was on  the medispa’s brochure as management.  At the time, Smith identified himself as Dr. Michael Franzblau, a California licensed physician and surgeon.  According to the MBC press release, Smith had taken Franzblau’s identity and produced Franzblau’s medical license as his own.   Smith is actually a dentist whose license was suspended.   Smith is accused of using Franblau’s license to illegally practice medicine and order prescriptions. 

Arrest warrants were issued for Smith and the registered nurse, Julie Seckyung Kim, on charges of unlicensed practice of medicine, unlicensed corporate practice, identity theft, theft by false pretenses, conspiracy and perjury. 

The iLaser MediSpa is no longer open for business.

“Someone posing as a doctor and performing treatments or allowing someone else to perform treatments is dangerous and life threatening,” said Alan Barcelona, president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA).  CSLEA represents MBC investigators along with nearly 7,000 other law enforcement, public safety and consumer protection professionals who work for the state of California.  “No one wants their health and well-being put at risk.  MBC investigators root out the imposters who put profit over patients and  as they can tell you, there’s no shortage of cases to be investigated.”