Washington’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against a Seattle cosmetic surgeon who performs sex change procedures on the grounds that he doctored before-and-after treatment images and threatened patients who wrote poor reviews with a $250,000 punishment.
Thursday, Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a complaint against Allure Esthetic and its owner, Dr. Javad Sajan, for violating state and federal privacy protection statutes.
Allure Esthetic is suspected of providing bogus five-star ratings accompanied by modified “before and after” images of procedures supplied via fake email accounts. Ferguson stated that the evaluations were then submitted over a VPN to conceal the IP address of the sender.
In response to complaints, the attorney general’s office began an investigation into Allure Esthetic that lasted a year and included interviews with 10 consumers and 40 former staff.
An ex-employee was quoted by KING5 News as describing Allure’s techniques as “unrelenting.” Ferguson stated, “Allure spared no effort to keep negative evaluations off the internet.”
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the case during a press conference on Thursday.
This image of Dr. Javad Sajan MD Allure Esthetic executing a procedure on a female patient was released to the clinic’s Instagram page with the caption, “A comfortable patient is a comfortable injection.”
The news source said that between 2017 and 2019, Allure had over 10,000 customers sign non-disclosure agreements prior to consultations that forced patients to contact the company instead of publishing a bad review.
The Seattle Times said that the lawsuit claimed Allure sued anonymous reviewers for defamation in order to control what was said publicly about the practice on sites such as Google and Yelp.
During Thursday’s news conference, Ferguson stated, “This case involves a company and its owner who tried everything in their power, often illegally, to prevent individuals and clients from speaking with the public about their experience in these reviews.”
Ferguson stated that if a patient posted a negative review about the treatment, the clinic would threaten and bribe them to remove it, even offering them money and services. Allure would threaten to sue the patient if they did not comply.
Those who took the pay to remove the unfavorable reviews were had to sign a second non-disclosure agreement indicating that if they publish negative reviews in the future, they will be subject to a $250,000 fine.
Ferguson asserted that the corporation continues to require these agreements.
The lawsuit accuses Allure of publishing phony five-star reviews and altering before-and-after images of the treatments. The corporation was also accused of purchasing false followers and ‘likes’ as well as creating bogus profiles to post positive evaluations.
It also claimed skincare rebates without the patients’ permission, using their true names and dates of birth to register for the rebates, then pocketing the money.
According to the lawsuit, patients were obliged to renounce their privacy rights as part of this agreement so that the corporation may respond to unfavorable reviews with personal health information.
Ferguson asserted that this was a violation of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which forbids some entities from sharing sensitive health information without “valid” authorization.
A “before and after” image of a facial feminization treatment conducted by Dr. Sajan, which included “hairline lowering, brow bone reduction, rhinoplasty, and chin reduction.”
A ‘before-and-after shot one month following gender affirming brow bone reduction, hairline lowering with endotine, brow lift, rhinoplasty, lip lift, chin bone reduction, and mandibular jaw reduction for a transgender male-to-female’
The office of Allure Esthetics in Seattle, located at 601 Broadway
The website of Allure Esthetics that features an image of Dr. Javad Sajan promotes the cosmetic surgeon’s podcast, which is described as ‘unique stories, genuine suffering, and real successes.’
The attorney general stated that Allure eliminated the phrase in 2019, but the firm continued to need ‘pre-service’ contracts until March 2022.
Ferguson is seeking the court to prohibit Allure from continuing what he refers to as “illegal activities for violating consumer protection and patient privacy laws.”
He is demanding financial penalties of $7,500 per infraction, as well as reimbursement for the $100 pre-consultation charge and cash rebates issued to patients.
According to the lawsuit, Allure also operates under the names Seattle Plastic Surgery, Alderwood Surgical Center, Gallery of Cosmetic Surgery, Nasal Sinus Center, and Northwest Face and Body.
The practice that provides surgical and non-surgical procedures, such as Botox and gender-affirming therapy, has locations in the Seattle, Lynnwood, and Kirkland regions.
On Allure’s website, Dr. Sajan is prominently displayed in a photo alongside a seal indicating that the American Institute of Plastic Surgeons has recognized him as one of the 10 finest plastic surgeons in a patient satisfaction study for two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021.
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