A 27-year-old woman died after getting an anti-aging injection at a holistic wellness center in the Bronx — and the unlicensed doctor has been arrested, police said Monday
The woman was rushed unconscious and unresponsive from Bereshit Lifestyle Center in Riverdale to New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital Sunday, cops said
Cops were called at 1:10 p.m. after the woman was declared dead at the hospital. Her name was not immediately released
Police said the woman had gone earlier in the day to the center on Riverdale Ave. near W. 232nd St., which specializes in holistic medicine and offers products “to make healthy living easy,” according to its website
She was injected with an “anti-aging therapy solution” and soon after went into medical distress, with the center calling for an ambulance, police said
Luis Rojas Cabrera, who is licensed in his native Dominican Republic but not in the United States, was charged with reckless endangerment and unauthorized practice of a profession, police said
An autopsy will determine the woman’s cause of death, at which point authorities could upgrade charges against the doctor
“We have carefully chosen all of the products that we carry to make sure that you have the latest innovations and best products to help maintain a healthy lifestyle,” the center’s website boasts
The doctor, pictured smiling broadly on the website, identifies himself as Dr. Luis A. Rojas and says he is a “M.D., Surgeon, Naturopath.”
He says he is board certified in holistic health and alternative medicine and that he is from a family of medical professionals in the Dominican Republic including his mother, whom beginning when he was 11 he assisted “in various nursing and medical procedures, thus causing an immense desire to continue studying in the area of nursing and medicine.”
“It gives me great pleasure,” he says on the website “to help individuals gain improvement in their health condition and lifestyle through natural methods and simple therapies.”
