Police: Jacksonville Botox ‘doctor’ drank Four Loko, champagne during consultations

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man who was performing Botox treatments has been arrested and charged with practicing or attempting to practice medicine without a medical license, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Director Mike Bruno, with the Sheriff’s Office, called it “one of the most bizarre cases” he’s come across in his career during a Wednesday afternoon news conference. Bruno said the Sheriff’s Office received a tip from another law enforcement agency that Nelson Turin was performing Botox treatments without a medical license and without the appropriate state certifications.

Bruno said investigators found several videos online showing Turin injecting clients with Botox and doing other treatments. He said during the investigation, detectives came across an advertisement for a “Bubbles and Botox” event.

“The Botox was for the clients. The bubbles, that was for the clients and the doctor,” Bruno said. “Turin was also consuming champagne and Four Loko, which is a malt beverage. He would do this during the patient consultations, while he would sit down and have the patient on the table, and basically telling them what they would do or what he would need to do and what kind of services they would be provided.”

According to Bruno, a detective who was posing as a client during a on March 12 visit went into the spa on San Jose Boulevard to talk about a Botox treatment. During a consultation with the detective, Bruno said, Turin was seen consuming alcoholic beverages. Bruno said Turin set up an injection kit, used a marker to identify different areas for an injection and prepared to perform a treatment.

“That’s when our other detectives came in and stopped him where he was and he was arrested prior to doing any of the services on our undercover officer,” Bruno said.

Bruno said investigators checked the Florida Department of Health and the Department of Business and Professional Regulations for licensing.

“He’s not a doctor. He’s not an advanced nurse practitioner. He’s not authorized to possess the Botox, the lidocaine or any of the other drugs,” Bruno said.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Turin received training from an institute in Orlando where he obtained certifications in oral surgery and phlebotomy. Bruno said Turin used his certifications’ license numbers to obtain the medical drugs illegally. He said Turin would provide Botox treatments at deeply discounted costs.

Of the items police confiscated was a vial with an expiration date in 2020.

“The preservatives won’t work,” explained Dr. Linda Quinn, who practices in Jacksonville Beach. “Would anybody drink expired milk, for example?”

Additionally, Bruno said Turin was charged with three counts of possession of legend drugs without a prescription with intent to sell or deliver, and leading the public to believe he was a licensed medical doctor. Legend drugs are drugs that are required by law to be dispensed to the public only on prescription of a licensed physician.