(Miami, FL) – An unlicensed Miami plastic surgeon, dubbed Dr. Frankenstein is on the lam possibly in Brazil, according to the New York Post.
João Araujo reportedly cut off his ankle monitor and disappeared right before this month’s trial for allegedly disfiguring patients in Florida.
Many of Dr. Frankenstein’s patients were fellow Brazilians living in the Miami area, according to court filings.
Brazil usually does not extradite so he may never face the felonies for grand theft, practicing medicine without a license and fraud in Miami.
Also, it appears Brazil issued 57-year-old Araujo a new passport after he surrendered his as a condition of his bond, according to the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office.
Defense attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, tells WIOD that his client “Has pleaded not guilty and is temporarily unavailable. But if he returns, he will zealously defend him against the charges.” He says he doesn’t know Araujo’s whereabouts, but he previously asked the judge to allow his client to travel home to Brazil, which was denied.
According to Eiglarsh, “The state made is clear that Brazil did not have an extradition treaty with the US. And if he returned to Brazil for a short time, he would never be able to get back here.”
If Brazil issued a new passport, this would inflame an already tense US-Brazil relationship.
In July, Brazil blocked the US ambassador, former Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, saying he was selected without the country’s consent.
As a result, the US canceled the Brazilian ambassador’s visa.