Patient Dashes Out on Botox Bill

June 17, 2008— -- You've probably heard of people who "dine and dash" or "ring and run" — but "Botox and bolt?" A woman in Florida allegedly drove off without paying for a $1,225 Botox treatment last week, after telling the clerk at a cosmetic surgery clinic that she had left her credit card in her car.

Dr. John Porcaro of Port St. Lucie Porcaro Hair and Cosmetic Surgery told ABC News he was suspicious when the patient told him that she had to go out to her car "to get her emergency credit card," particularly because he had quoted her the price a week earlier.

"I went out of the office looking for her, because it sounded like a suspicious story. She knew darn well how much it was going to be." But when Porcaro got outside, "she had taken off."

The patient identified herself to the clinic as Ashley Parker, a 22-year-old from North Carolina. According to the Port St. Lucie police report, none of the contact information she provided checked out and they believe she provided a fake name. The clinic did not obtain a copy of her driver's license.

Officer Robert Vega has been at the Port St. Lucie police department for seven years and says he has never seen anything like it.

"It's definitely the first time since I've been here," Vega told ABC News. "It happens all the time where people purchase an item or a beverage and then skip out on the bill. But this is the first time, definitely the first time since I've been here, where we've had somebody and leave without paying for a Botox service."

Vega said the police department can't do much without proper identification but is not overly concerned, citing that while it is an unusual case, it is not "the crime of the century."

If the Botox bandit is caught, she faces charges of grand theft. Porcaro hopes to track down the woman, who came in last Tuesday to fix the wrinkles on her forehead, but he admits that his clinic is also to blame.

"It's partially our responsibility for not having executed the normal safety measures that one would ordinarily insist on," Porcaro said, referring to the clinic's failure to obtain a copy of her photo identification. "She gave some lame excuse to the receptionist that she just moved from South Carolina and during the move she lost her license. It should've been a tipoff, because she had driven herself to the office both times."

But from now on, Porcaro says, they won't be taking any chances.

"We've already instituted a policy, if someone doesn't leave a photo identification at the time they register, they won't be seen. Plain and simple. No license or photo ID, they're not seen, period."

But Porcaro wishes it didn't have to be this way. He says they usually take their patients at "face value." But perhaps that is not the best way to deal with people looking to change their faces.

"It's unfortunate that we have to resort to these kind of measures," Porcaro said. "It's supposed to be a fun process for the patient and for me."

While injecting small doses of a otherwise lethal poison that causes botulism into patients' faces might not be everybody's idea of "fun," Porcaro says it's his passion.

"I love to see patients come back after treatment I've given them," he said. "It's not just a question of cosmetic improvement, it improves the quality of their life, it improves their self esteem, it improves how they react to family and friends, and how they see themselves. It's a reincarnation."