Fort Lee Resident and Plastic Surgeon Arrested at West New York Office

A Fort Lee resident was arrested Wednesday and charged with unlicensed practice of medicine after allegedly offering to perform liposuction on an undercover investigator at his West New York office, according to the state Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs.

Rosendo S. Icochea, 65, who is not licensed to practice medicine in New Jersey but holds a medical license in New York, allegedly asked for $6,000 to perform liposuction and other cosmetic surgery after undercover investigators went to his West New York office for a physical examination and assessment, authorities said.

The arrest marks the second time legal action has been taken against Icochea for unlicensed practice. In 2009, he admitted to the third-degree crime, agreed to cease and desist and was assessed $10,000 in civil penalties by the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners, according to the Division of Consumer Affairs.

Investigators from Consumer Affairs’ Enforcement Bureau began looking into Icochea’s activities following an anonymous tip received earlier this year, authorities said.

Icochea was released on his own recognizance after his arrest by West New York police, authorities said. 

“If you’re a doctor practicing in New Jersey, then you need to be licensed in New Jersey – it’s not a complicated concept,” Acting Director of the State Division of Consumer Affairs Thomas R. Calcagni said in a press release. “For those who repeatedly refuse to comply with the law, criminal charges are the best medicine.”