A Scarborough-based beautician has been charged for fraudulent Botox whilst showing fake certificates as evidence of her training.
Jamie Winter, 35, has been prosecuted for 5 fraud offences and as a result will have to serve 150 hours unpaid community service – no prison sentence was imposed.
The case came light to light as one of her female patients suffered an adverse reaction and went to the police to report Winter for maltreatment.
No prosecution could be brought for the alleged assault as there was no evidence that the swelling the woman had suffered was a direct result of the Botox. It did lead to the fraud charges however.
The 5 accounts were for treatments given to 10 female and 2 male patients over a period of 18 months, within the Scarborough area. Winter pleaded guilty to these charges. She offered the Botox at a cut rate, having bought it cheaply online from the US and reportedly undergoing minimal online training. After practising on herself and her friends Winter then started to charge for the service and word quickly spread about her discounted rates.
As there is no regulation surrounding Botox treatments it was not her lack of proper training that was the cause for the conviction but rather the simple fact of producing a false certificate, thereby offering the injections on a fraudulent basis.
What the case highlights is the need for regulation of Botox treatments – in particular, regulation surrounding the Botox training carried out by the practitioner – in order to protect the patient.
