Woman dies after receiving injection of unknown substance at Bronx lifestyle business, police say
Police say a man who has been doing business as a naturopathic doctor in the Bronx has been arrested after a 27-year-old woman came in for a treatment over the weekend and later died at the hospital.
The Bereshit Lifestyle Center on Riverdale Avenue was closed Monday and its founder, Dr. Luis Rojas Cabrera, remained in police custody.
The latest on the investigation
The NYPD says on Sunday at around noon Rojas Cabrera injected the woman with an unknown substance and that she had a medical episode as a result.
Police sources say medical staff called 911 and the victim was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian hospital unconscious and unresponsive. Police say she was later pronounced dead.
Police sources say Rojas Cabrera, 55, of Passaic, New Jersey, admitted to injecting the woman with an unknown substance. He now faces charges of reckless endangerment and unauthorized practice of a profession.
No New York State records list him as a licensed medical doctor, but on his web site he says, "I am an M.D., surgeon, naturopath, a full member of the Dominican College" in the Dominican Republic. Inside his dark office was a manual of integrative oncology protocols.
"You have no idea what these things might do to you"
As for what to look out for when seeking medical care or treatments, Dr. Bruce Y. Lee of the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health said always ask for a medical license.
"The key is you have to know exactly what you're getting yourself into and what are the potential side effects," Lee said. "What are they using? Are they FDA-approved ingredients, medications, treatments and those types of things? Without FDA approval, you have no idea what these things might do to you."
New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley said, in part, "Unlicensed or unqualified staff, dirty needles, expired or counterfeit drugs such as Botox or fillers, and unsanitary conditions can lead to serious injury or even death."
Police say the medical examiner is still working to determine the woman's official cause of death.
CBS News New York contacted Bereshit Lifestyle Center for comment, but did not immediately get a response.
