MEDICAL SPA OPERATORS TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR USING STOLEN LASER MACHINES TO PRACTICE MEDICINE WITHOUT LICENSE IN LAGUNA NIGUEL

Case # 17HF0947

Date: July 31, 2017

MEDICAL SPA OPERATORS TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR USING STOLEN LASER MACHINES TO PRACTICE MEDICINE WITHOUT LICENSE IN LAGUNA NIGUEL

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man and woman are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow for operating stolen laser machines without a license at their medical spa in Laguna Niguel.

Defendant

Felony Charges

Maximum Sentence

Court Date

Mathew Louis Finnes, 32, Laguna Niguel

Snezhana Semenov, 29, Dana Point

Charged on June 27, 2017, with felony:

  • Receiving stolen property
  • Unauthorized practice of medicine

Three years and eight months in state prison

Arraignment

Aug. 1, 2017, 8:30 a.m.

Department H-7, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach

Circumstances of the Case

  • At the time of the crime, Semenov owned and operated New Way Beauty, a medical spa in Laguna Niguel that offered various laser hair removal and facial skin treatments.
  • The defendants are accused of presenting themselves as nurses and performing laser treatments without working under a licensed physician, or having a registered nurse present, as required by law.
  • In the early morning hours of March 27, 2017, a burglar smashed a glass door of a laser treatment facility in San Juan Capistrano and stole three laser machines worth $120,000 in total.
  • The owner of the burglarized business reported the crime to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), who investigated this case.
  • In May 2017, the manufacturer of the stolen laser located the device at New Way Beauty through its serial number after Semenov is accused of ordering new attachments for the machine.
  • OCSD detectives made appointments while undercover and observed the stolen devices in an exam room.
  • Semenov is accused of illegally diagnosing an undercover detective with a skin condition and recommending a laser treatment without a medical license.
  • On May 25, 2017, OCSD arrested Semenov at the business, and arrested Finnes at his home later that day.

Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Michael Pevney, Special Prosecutions Unit