Fake Doctor Accused of Leaving Victim Naked at Hospital Following Botched Back-Alley Bum Fillers

Alleged fake doctor Alicia Leslie is accused of leaving a woman unconscious and naked from the waist down at Jacobi Medical Center in February 2022 after silicone bum injections allegedly caused her death.

Maxine Messam, 53, had arranged to meet Leslie for the cosmetic procedure, prosecutors allege. Leslie, 47, was arrested in October 2026 and charged with criminally negligent homicide and unauthorised practice of a profession following an investigation into Messam's death.

Leslie pleaded not guilty at her arraignment in Bronx Supreme Criminal Court and was released without having to post bail. Her lawyer, Kyle Watters, has denied the allegations against her and expressed confidence that she will be exonerated. She is scheduled to return to court on 4 November.

Police believe Leslie carried out the injections before taking Messam to hospital. Prosecutors allege that Leslie administered silicone injections that caused Messam's death. Investigators also accuse her of leaving the hospital without disclosing her alleged involvement in the procedure.

Text Messages Cited in Fake Doctor Case

Law enforcement sources cited by the New York Post allege that Leslie and another woman brought Messam to Jacobi Medical Center before leaving in a van. However, a separate account of the indictment did not identify the two women.

Law enforcement say investigators discovered a text message exchange between Leslie and Messam concerning plans to meet in Yonkers on 15 February 2022 for the buttock-enhancement procedure.

The alleged messages concern an appointment between the women before Messam was brought to hospital. They are part of prosecutors' account of a planned cosmetic treatment, which differs from the explanation Leslie and another woman allegedly offered when seeking medical assistance for Messam.

The text exchange is cited as evidence of a planned appointment. Prosecutors separately allege that Leslie's silicone injections caused Messam's death, although the reported cardiac arrest remains part of the law enforcement account.

Hospital Arrival at Centre of Fake Doctor Allegations

Messam allegedly arrived at Jacobi Medical Center with multiple injection marks on her buttocks. She was unconscious and had no clothing below her waist, the condition police describe in their account of her arrival.

Leslie allegedly departed in a van after dropping Messam off. The accusations describe an unconscious patient arriving for medical attention, without establishing that Messam had already died before reaching the hospital.

Leslie and the other woman allegedly claimed they had discovered Messam in distress at Woodlawn Cemetery. They did not disclose that the cosmetic procedure had taken place, the allegations state.

That alleged explanation placed their encounter with Messam at Woodlawn Cemetery, where they claimed to have discovered her needing assistance. Prosecutors' account presents an earlier connection between Leslie and Messam, alleging that the two had arranged to meet for injections and pointing to the text exchange as evidence of that plan.

The other woman has not been charged in connection with Messam's death. Although she allegedly accompanied Leslie and supported the cemetery explanation, no separate allegation that she administered the injections is detailed.

Fake Doctor Allegations Follow Earlier Injection Prosecution

The US Food and Drug Administration has warned that silicone injections used for buttock enhancement can cause serious complications, including blocked blood vessels, strokes, infections and death.

An earlier prosecution concerned an unlicensed cosmetologist who pleaded guilty in 2017 after a Queens mother died following an illegal buttock-enhancement injection.

Tamira Mobley, identified as 32, admitted second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and the unauthorised practice of a profession. The guilty pleas were entered under an agreement providing for a prison sentence of one year and four months to four years. Mobley was sentenced in January 2018.