Cosmetic treatment center owner accused of posing as doctor faces federal charges

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SALT LAKE CITY — A Sandy man accused of impersonating a doctor at a cosmetic procedures clinic allegedly ignored a court order to stop practicing, according to new federal charges against him.

Hollywood Body and Laser Center owner William Ricker Ferguson, 52, continued to practice despite being ordered not to as the result of nearly two dozen felony charges filed against him in state court last October, a federal complaint alleges. The business, renamed Hollywood Body MD, offered treatments for hair removal, acne, skin rejuvenation and cellulite.

Last December, a patient identified as T.B. scheduled a liposuction treatment after Ferguson assured her only doctors would perform the procedure, the complaint states. On that day, Ferguson was present and instructed the doctors on what to do.

"She noticed Dr. Ponce was sweating profusely while jabbing her with the probe. At some point she looked up and saw Ferguson was performing the procedure in spite of his promise that only doctors would be working on her. She remembered Ferguson stating, 'They get tired so I'm just helping,'" according to a U.S. District Court complaint.

In April, the Utah Division of Professional Licensing sent an undercover patient to the clinic to ask about the HCG diet. Rather than a doctor, she was seen by Ashlee Choate, a 21-year-old "master esthetician" and office manager who was listed as the business license applicant and owner of Hollywood Body MD, according to the complaint.

When the patient returned the next day, Choate, of Sandy, told her a doctor approved her use of HCG, the complaint states. The patient received syringes, needles, alcohol swabs and prescription for the injections. She was given the option of filling the prescription at a pharmacy of her choice but was told that it would cost $80 to $130 more than using a Florida company called SpaMedica. She opted for the latter.

A day later a package arrived with a return address for Complete Meds, SpaMedica USA in Sandy, the same address as Hollywood Body, according to the complaint. Instructions for the drug stated "inject 166.66 IU's daily for weight loss as directed by physician Dr. K. Hebdon." C. Kent Hebdon resigned as medical director and consulting physician the month before.

Federal prosecutors allege the prescription number was not legitimate and that postal records indicate the package was never in Florida.

Furthermore, postal records show there were 96 mailings for Complete Meds from April 1 to June 4, all of which were processed in Salt Lake City, according to the complaint. Complete Meds is not registered in Utah and in Florida it appears to be a one-man telemarketing operation, the complaint states.

A federal grand jury Wednesday indicted Ferguson and Choate on 26 counts of mail fraud and wire fraud. Each mail fraud count carries a potential sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum penalty for each wire fraud count is 20 years and a $250,000 fine.

The indictment alleges that Ferguson, who was never a licensed physician, posed as a medical doctor to prospective and actual patients, performed medical procedures, and prescribed medicine including HCG, botox, valium and percocet.

Ferguson and Choate used photocopies and rubber stamps purporting to contain the signature of various Hollywood Body “medical directors” to provide prescriptions and obtain drugs, according to the indictment.

As a result of the indictment, state prosecutors dropped 23 charges, including aggravated assault, forgery and unlawful pharmacy practices, against Ferguson.

Email: dromboy@ksl.com