An Orange County plastic surgeon who calls himself “Dr. Laguna” is now facing criminal charges and new medical board allegations, months after he reached a $6 million settlement with dozens of former patients who claimed they were the victims of horribly botched procedures and medical negligence.
Dr. Arian Mowlavi is facing two felony charges of committing battery with serious bodily injury involving two alleged victims, Orange County Superior Court records show. And recent written accusations filed with the state medical board also allege that he committed “gross negligence.”
A July 19 criminal complaint outlining the felony charges doesn’t specify whether the alleged victims in the case are patients, but it does reference Mowlavi using “surgical tools” related to the alleged battery, describes the potential victims as “particularly vulnerable” and accuses Mowlavi of taking advantage of “a position of trust and confidence.” The complaint says the alleged criminal acts occurred in July and August of 2021.
Mowlavi pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges last week. He has been released on his own recognizance, court records show. A public defender appointed to represent him did not respond to a request for comment and Mowlavi could not be reached for comment.
A canny self-promoter who actively marketed himself on Instagram and claimed to be “well regarded as a world-renowned face, body and breast sculpture” who has “performed over 15,000 procedures,” Mowlavi has been under fire in recent years from dozens of former patients, the state medical board and now local prosecutors.
The former patients who sued Mowlavi described medical side effects from their procedures that left some hospitalized with at-times life-threatening ailments, and left others in medical debt and unable to work.
The state medical board briefly suspended Mowlavi’s license after the death of a patient. The chief of the plastic surgery department at a south Orange County hospital has since referred to Mowlavi in court filings as “a danger to the community.”
Mowlavi, in his own court filings, has denied being responsible for any misconduct or medical malpractice. He has claimed that his accusers are trying to destroy his career.
A new written accusation filed July 18 with the Medical Board of California alleges negligence on Mowlavi’s part regarding the treatment of three patients in connection to surgeries at an outpatient center in Laguna Beach. All three went to emergency rooms days after undergoing surgeries with Mowlavi, according to the accusations in the medical board filing.
Mowlavi is already in the midst of a 10-year probation period under an earlier agreement with the state medical board that included a 90-day suspension of his medical license. That agreement was related to a woman who died from a condition related to the interruption of the supply of oxygen to her brain two days after Mowlavi performed a liposuction and other procedures on her.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office — which filed the recent criminal charges against Mowlavi — also previously filed a civil lawsuit against the doctor that echoed many of the allegations raised by his former patients while also accusing him of unlawful business practices. That case is still active.
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