Sleek Surgical & Medspa, Ft Laud Jeffrey LaGrasso, M.D. Sleek Medspa ripped me off of $3,422.50 for a refundable downpayment on liposuction. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

It is extremely unfortunate that this person and others were victimized by the shoddy and disreputable business practices of Sleek Medspa. It's also understandable that mistreated clients feel that innocent parties may be guilty by association. However, nothing is further from the truth. Keeping that in mind, some clarification is warranted regarding Dr. LaGrasso’s involvement with Sleek Medspa. Dr. LaGrasso is a respected board certified plastic surgeon who was hired as an independent contractor by Sleek Medspa to perform certain medical procedures. He has absolutely no management or proprietary interest in the company and never has. He had no knowledge of these transgressions until the complaints were made. In fact, before it closed its doors, Dr. LaGrasso had already parted ways Sleek Medspa because of payment checks that failed to clear the bank. In addition, he personally continues to seek legal remedies, both criminal and civil, against the actual owners of Sleek Medspa regarding their business practices and contractual obligations to Dr. LaGrasso. More importantly, Dr. LaGrasso is compassionate towards these clients. He displays a sense of moral outrage regarding the reprehensible treatment of Sleek Medspa's victims. In a recent interview, Dr. LaGrasso stated, "Part of The Hippocratic Oath is often misquoted as 'Do No Harm.' Still, it IS a fundamental tenet of reputable physicians. This includes business abuses as well as medical practices and procedures. I am not here to take advantage of or mistreat my patients, neither medically nor financially.” In the simplest of terms, if a bank president is accused of embezzling funds, you don't blame the bank teller. Dr. LaGrasso's involvement in these accusations should be viewed in the same light as he is blameless in the dishonorable business operations of Sleek Medspa.