Cosmetologist arrested for administering injections she wasn’t licensed to give

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — It’s a case of beauty treatments gone wrong.

A Queens cosmetologist was arrested and charged with assault after a customer allegedly suffered a bad reaction from injections she wasn’t licensed to give.

A rash covered the neck of a 57-year-old woman who was allegedly left with scars and substantial pain after beauty treatments at Princess Beauty, Inc., according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

Cosmetologist Fei Min is accused of repeatedly injecting unknown substances into the face, neck and breasts of the woman, who visited the company’s Flushing location over a period of three years. The victim was allegedly told she was getting “Botox, stem cell, collagen and other injectable or microneedling treatments.”

According to a criminal complaint, during a visit in July 2024, Min injected “unknown substances into her neck approximately 128-140 times,” resulting in a painful reaction.

Katz said in a statement, “Fei Min, as alleged, provided treatments she had no authority to perform and is now charged with assault and related charges.”

Min is due back in court in April and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

According to investigators, Min had an individual cosmetology license, but it expired in March 2021. Investigators also say Min lacks the required licenses to administer Botox injections, which can only be done by a medical professional such as a doctor, or perform microneedling treatments, which can be done by a licensed medical professional or licensed acupuncturist

“In the last 10 years, I’ve seen the number of cases really increase of patients having had illicit treatments,” Dr. Ronald Shelton said.

Shelton, a board certified dermatologist, said there can be serious consequences to going to someone not licensed to do injections.

“We can get complications of the wrong substance injected that cause foreign body reactions that cannot be treated. It can travel within the bloodstream and cause problems of death of skin, what we call necrosis and bad scarring and, worse, could even be blindness,” Shelton said.

This comes two weeks after the arrest of Hell’s Kitchen aesthetician Joey Grant Luther, accused of injecting people with counterfeit Botox.

And with the demand for cosmetic treatments increasing, experts recommend you verify the license of the person you’re seeing. You can look up a physician, physician assistant or acupuncturist at the New York State Education Department’s Office of the Profession’s database. For cosmetology licenses, check the Department of State.

In the case here, Min is being represented by the Legal Aid Society, which had no comment.

Katz is encouraging anyone who may have visited the business and suffered injuries to call the district attorney’s consumer fraud helpline at 1-718-286-6673.

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