Unlicensed woman indicted for BBL in Sheepshead salon

A window display advertises low-cost “Brazilian butt lift” cosmetic surgery procedures outside a clinic in Miami on Friday, March 22, 2019. On Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 93 Americans have died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic since 2009, with many of the recent deaths involving a procedure known as a Brazilian butt lift. Photo: Ellis Rua/AP

DOWNTOWN — A 46-year-old woman suffered a life-threatening infection and severe injuries from a botched Brazilian butt lift (BBL).

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Friday that the physician, who performed the high-risk medical procedure recklessly without the required medical license, has been indicted.

“This defendant is accused of deceiving a victim by falsely presenting herself as though she were licensed to practice medicine and conducting a high-risk surgery she was not legally qualified to perform,” Gonzalez said.

Nargiza Shukurova, 39, of Uzbekistan, was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment charging her with second-degree assault, third-degree assault, unauthorized practice of a profession, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree reckless endangerment.

Bail was set at $25,000 cash or $200,000 bond, and the defendant was ordered to return to court on March 25, 2026.

BBLs must be performed with the greatest of care, as they have the highest mortality rate of any cosmetic surgery procedure.

According to the investigation, the defendant advertised on social media, using the titles “Dr. Nargiza” and “Dr. Nargis,” offering “butt enlargement, buttocks shape correction” and “Barbie lips,” among other services, with before and after photographs.

Shukurova did not have a license to practice medicine in New York State and was not authorized to perform a BBL.

She allegedly performed a BBL on the victim on May 7, 2023, at Fleur de Beaute Salon, which was located in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and was not a New York State authorized surgical facility.

Shukurova did not record the victim’s medical history, perform a basic physical exam or follow standard surgical procedures.

In the following days, the victim began to experience severe medical complications, including a life-threatening infection.

As the victim’s infection worsened, the defendant allegedly discouraged the victim from seeking immediate medical treatment and instead attempted to manage the victim’s rapidly declining condition herself.

Almost three weeks after the BBL, the victim lost consciousness in her home, and her family rushed her to a local hospital, where she underwent approximately a dozen surgeries over two months to treat an infection that nearly killed her.

During her hospital stay, the defendant allegedly left messages on the victim’s phone begging her to lie to hospital personnel about the procedure and not reveal her identity.

The defendant was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport with a Kings County warrant on Jan. 9, 2026.

The District Attorney thanked Digital Forensic Analyst Richard Rojas of the District Attorney’s Digital Evidence Lab, Intelligence Analyst Veranika Basak of the Investigations Division and Detective Investigators from the KCDA Detective Bureau for their assistance on the case as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Los Angeles Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Laura Neubauer, chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Bureau, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Jessica White of the Frauds Bureau.

The case was investigated by now-retired Chief of the Healthcare Fraud Unit Maria Leonardi and ADA Jessica White, under the supervision of Chief and Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill and Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos.