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:
|
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