A San Jose couple was in custody Thursday after authorities raided an alleged illegal home-based cosmetic surgery clinic that preyed upon immigrant women and has left at least nine people disfigured by procedures improperly done.

Ha Nguyen, 48, and Zbigniew Makowski, 62, have been charged with practicing medicine without a license after a victim complained to a county welfare fraud investigator. The pair was also facing child endangerment and possible welfare fraud charges. [...]

Authorities were alerted to the couple's activities by a former client of Nguyen's, according to a search warrant affidavit. The client said Nguyen was performing cosmetic surgery in her home and earning at least $500 a day, while also receiving welfare, the affidavit said. [Illegal Front Room Plastic Surgery Clinic Busted, KTVU-TV 9/06/07]

Actually, it's not just California experiencing creativity in plastic surgery. In Massachusetts last year, a young Brazilian woman died from a basement liposuction performed by a couple of her countrymen.