North Andover Woman Sentenced For Illegal Silicone Injections

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — A North Andover woman was sentenced to two years in prison Wednesday for performing illegal silicone injections in exchange for money.

Gladys Araceli Ceron, 73, pleaded guilty in April to five counts of "delivery for pay of an adulterated or misbranded medical device received in interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Ceron was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of supervised release. The judge did not make a judgment on potential restitution.

“For 15 years, Ms. Ceron chose to make money by injecting her cosmetics customers with toxic silicone – all the while knowing that by doing so she was exposing them to serious harm, disfiguration and potentially death,” said Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell in a statement. “We are committed to protecting the health and safety of the public, and the sentence imposed by the court shows that people who callously put people at great risk of harm will be punished.”

From roughly 2004 to 2019, Ceron performed illegal bodily injections using "gluteal material" that she sourced from Florida, prosecutors said. Lab tests confirmed it contained silicone oil, which the Food and Drug Administration says can spread through the blood and cause disfigurement, a stroke or even death.

“Injecting silicone oil not approved for human use can result in serious bodily injury or death,” said Jeffrey J. Ebersole, special agent in charge of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office.

“We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who offer this dangerous product to the public," Ebersole said.

Ceron operated her business in Lawrence, officials said.

According to prosecutors, in 2018, Ceron agreed to perform butt and face injections for someone. During a recorded May 24, 2018 meeting, she said she charged $500 for butt injections and $60 for each wrinkle-filling injection.

The next month, her business in Lawrence was searched and "several bottles and syringes of a substance that tests revealed to be silicone oil" were seized.

Uncapped, used syringes were also seized.

"Ceron admitted to performing illegal injections to augment the buttock or fill wrinkles of five victims in exchange for money and misled her victims about her qualifications and the identity and safety of the material she was injecting," according to the release.

The government estimates that there may have been hundreds or thousands of victims of Ceron's illegal injections, according to court documents.