Pair charged with running Las Vegas beauty spa without licenses

Two men have been charged with performing surgeries at a popular southwest Las Vegas beauty clinic even though they didn’t have medical licenses.

Las Vegas police said Skyler Pearson, 33, and Justin Hockett, 24, were booked at the Clark County Detention Center on Thursday on multiple felonies stemming from their operation of Image Med Spa, 8930 W. Sunset Road. Prior to the spa’s closing, it was extremely busy in 2020, treating dozens of customers a day, police said in warrants for the men.

The business offered treatments such as Botox injections, “cryo” therapies such as “cryo shock,” laser lipo, “fat transfers,” microneedling and “vampire facials,” police said. One customer told police she was pitched on a treatment that involved using a “syringe to suck the fat out.”

When police and state investigators searched the business, they found “medical procedures were taking place, no doctor on premise and patients were on the table.”

“The remaining regulatory inspection uncovered a room of dangerous drugs,” police said. “This room was unlocked and accessible by all employees and customers.”

Witnesses told police that Pearson claimed to be a registered nurse who was studying to become a doctor. But when they questioned Pearson he acknowledged “he held no formal medical license with the exception of a laser technician certificate he received online.”

The business, police said, did hire a medical director, but the licensed physician was not at the business and not performing procedures on patients. One patient interviewed by police said she was burned during a procedure aimed to “freeze fat under the skin.” Another said she received Botox and filler injections in her face and ended up with bruising on her face, police said.

“(She) complains of a permanent injury in her jaw and experiences clicking noises and tightness in movement,” police wrote in the warrants. “(She) even claims her jaw will crack and her dentist thinks her jaw is off.”

Pearson is charged with 15 felonies including performing surgery, acting as a medical practitioner without a license, and unlawful practice of dentistry. Hockett is facing similar charges but only six felonies.

Attorneys for Pearson and Hockett did not respond to requests for comment Friday. Initial appearances were held for both on Thursday in Las Vegas Justice Court. Both men are now out of custody.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.