PA Accused of Performing Surgeries on Unlicensed Basis Goes to Trial in St. Lucie

A Port St. Lucie man charged with performing cosmetic surgeries while licensed only as a physician's assistant stood trial this week in St. Lucie County, as prosecutors began laying out what they describe as a years-long fraudulent medical scheme that left at least four women with botched procedures and lasting physical and emotional harm.

Adley Dasilva, whose surgery center, Cosmetica Plastic Surgery and Anti-Aging, was shuttered by authorities in 2023, faces nearly a dozen felony counts — including racketeering, aggravated battery, and practicing medicine without a license. If convicted on all counts, he could face decades in state prison Officials said.

The charges go to the heart of a regulatory question that the Florida Department of Health has not fully answered publicly: How did Dasilva operate long enough to injure at least four patients before the state moved to shut him down? Whether the department received complaints prior to the 2023 closure — and what action, if any, was taken — remains unclear from court filings reviewed to date Officials said.

Assistant State Attorney Justin Miller put the motive plainly in Tuesday's opening statement.

"They were not authorized or licensed to perform the procedures," Miller told the jury. "Why would they do this? That's easy. The money was good."

The state's first witness was Jaclyn Sterling, who told the jury she underwent liposuction at Cosmetica believing the people performing it were fully licensed physicians. She said she was never informed of Dasilva's actual credentials.

"They just kept telling me everything was going to be OK, so stupid me, call me naive, I believed them," Sterling testified. "I thought they knew what they were doing, and that I could trust them."

Sterling, who first spoke publicly about her experience in 2024, described the aftermath as both physically and psychologically devastating. "I physically have scars," she said, "but the mental anguish is the worst."

Defense attorney Il Young Choi acknowledged in opening statements that some patients experienced complications but argued the evidence does not support criminal liability.

"The seriousness of the allegations does not substitute for proof or evidence," Choi said.

Notably, Choi told the jury that Dasilva intends to take the stand — a high-stakes strategic decision that will put his account of events and his understanding of the scope of his own licensure directly before jurors.

The case raises broader questions about oversight gaps in Florida's regulation of outpatient surgery centers and so-called medical spas, a category of cosmetic procedure business that has expanded rapidly across the Treasure Coast and statewide. Whether Florida's existing inspection and complaint-response protocols are adequate to catch unlicensed practitioners before patients are harmed is a question consumer advocates and medical licensing attorneys have raised repeatedly in recent years Officials said.

Year-over-year data specific to unlicensed medical practice complaints filed with the Florida Department of Health statewide and in St. Lucie County was not immediately available and is being requested Officials said.

The trial is expected to continue through the week. The Sentinel will report daily from the courtroom.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.