9-17-2024 6:56pm

State Board of Medical Examiners Revokes License of Tri-State Doctor Whose Practice of Aesthetic Medicine Allegedly Posed Grave Risk to Public

Donnella Tilery Editor

TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs (“Division”) announced today that the State Board of Medical Examiners (“the Board”) permanently revoked the license of an Essex County physician who allegedly traveled to dozens of offices in New Jersey and neighboring states to perform invasive aesthetic procedures with inadequate formal training and little regard for the health and safety of his patients.

Dr. Muhammad A. Mirza, a board-certified internist from Cedar Grove, has not practiced medicine in New Jersey since his license was temporarily suspended in 2021 amid allegations that his practice of aesthetic medicine posed a clear and imminent danger to the public due to his inadequate knowledge base in this specialty, as well as his deficient storage of supplies, inappropriate selection of an injectable dermal filler, poor record-keeping, and substandard office settings.

The State alleged that Mirza grossly deviated from accepted standards of medicine with conduct that included the “off label” use of certain dermal fillers to perform penile injections, which allegedly caused permanent physical harm to a patient; to inject near patients’ eyes, which, when done incorrectly, can lead to permanent blindness; and to inject filler into patients’ breasts, which can obfuscate patients’ mammogram results.

In a Final Consent Order filed with the Board today, Mirza agreed to the permanent revocation of his medical license to resolve the allegations against him.

“The revocation of this doctor’s medical license sends a clear message that we will not allow doctors to take advantage of patients’ desires to look and feel better about themselves by subjecting them to medically inappropriate procedures that expose them to the risk of grave harm and permanent disfigurement,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Public safety demands that cosmetic procedures be performed in a safe and appropriate manner by properly trained professionals who put patient health and safety above all else. Professionals who deviate from these standards face serious consequences.”

Mirza advertised and performed a variety of costly and invasive cosmetic enhancement services through his “Mirza Aesthetics” practice, which he operated primarily from rental spaces in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

Traveling from office to office, carrying medical products in duffle bags, Mirza allegedly saw up to 30 patients daily in makeshift spaces where he failed to observe proper protocols for medical recordkeeping, patient follow-ups, and storage of medical supplies – including products that required refrigeration and strict temperature control.

The Enforcement Bureau of the Division of Consumer Affairs (“EB”) opened an investigation into Mirza and Mirza Aesthetics in April 2021, following the Board’s receipt of numerous consumer complaints about the doctor and his practice of aesthetic medicine.

Patient complaints include allegations that Mirza:

used high-pressure sales tactics;
failed to wear a mask or medical surgical gloves while performing procedures;
would not disclose what products he was using or show the product's packaging;
caused physical complications like a lump and seizure;
failed to respond to post-procedure complaints and/or requests for records; and
performed aesthetic procedures in an area described as a “small storage closet” and “closet area with a bench.”

EB investigators conducted a subsequent inspection of Mirza’s office in Summit, New Jersey, which revealed, among other things, that:

the medical office consisted of one large room with a curtain used as a divider between the waiting room/receptionist area and the patient examination/treatment area;
the examination/treatment area had only chairs and a fold-away table, with no medical examination table; and
Mirza’s supply of injectable fillers was stored in “duffle bags,” with no medical storage refrigerators observed on the premises.

In one instance, Mirza’s use of an injectable dermal filler in a nonsurgical penile enhancement procedure allegedly caused permanent harm to a patient who suffered complications that required his hospitalization, where he underwent two emergency surgical interventions. When consulted by an emergency room physician regarding his treatment of the patient, Mirza allegedly failed to accurately disclose the exact filler he injected into the patient’s penis, further complicating the patient’s post-procedure emergency care.

In a Verified Complaint and Order to Show Cause filed with the Board on September 30, 2021, the State sought to revoke Mirza’s license on the grounds that his actions evidenced fraud, deception, and dishonesty; gross negligence that endangered the life, health, welfare, and safety of a person; repeated acts of professional misconduct; and other violations of professional standards.

In an Interim Consent Order filed with the Board on October 13, 2021, Mirza, who denied the allegations against him, agreed to the temporary suspension of his license until his case was heard by an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) and until further action of the Board. In February 2022, Mirza’s case was transferred to the Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) for a hearing before an ALJ. At Mirza’s request, the matter was stayed in August 2022 pending the resolution of unrelated criminal charges filed against Mirza in federal court in June 2022. Those charges stemmed from Mirza’s alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud scheme to defraud Amtrak.

On May 29, 2024, the State filed an Amended Verified Complaint after Mirza pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. As part of this scheme, Mirza submitted fraudulent claims to health benefit plans for services not rendered or not medically necessary. As part of his guilty plea, Mirza was sentenced to 26 months imprisonment and owes restitution in the amount of $1,371,544.

Under the terms of the Final Consent Order filed today, Mirza’s medical license is revoked with prejudice, and he is prohibited from seeking a medical license in New Jersey at any time in the future. Mirza continues to be barred from all patient contact and from rendering medical care in this state, including dispensing or issuing prescriptions for medications of any type. He is prohibited from entering the premises of his medical practice during business hours when patients may be present and is precluded from charging, receiving, or sharing in any fee for professional services rendered by others.

The Order also requires Mirza to divest himself from any current and future financial interest in or benefit derived from the practice of medicine in New Jersey, including the provision of healthcare activities taking place at his former New Jersey medical office(s), or anywhere else in the state. He is also precluded from managing, overseeing, supervising, or influencing the practice of medicine or provision of healthcare activities – including by testifying as an expert witness or serving as an expert consultant – in New Jersey.

Investigators with the Enforcement Bureau, within the Division of Consumer Affairs, conducted the investigation into this matter.

Deputy Attorneys General Daniel Evan Leef Hewitt, under the supervision of Professional Boards Prosecution Section Chief Doreen Hafner in the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group, represented the State in this matter.

Patients who believe that they have been treated by a licensed health care professional in an inappropriate manner can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.