Man pleads guilty to posing as plastic surgeon at Del Mar surgery center

A man who posed as a plastic surgeon and saw patients at a Del Mar cosmetic surgery center he owned pleaded guilty Tuesday, Aug. 22, to felony and misdemeanor charges.

Dario Moscoso, 70, was charged in 2019 with allegedly consulting female patients at the now-shuttered Del Mar Cosmetic Contouring Surgery Center regarding procedures such as “Brazilian butt lifts” and breast augmentations, despite not being licensed to practice medicine.

At a change-of-plea hearing Aug. 22, Moscoso pleaded guilty to felony counts of treating the sick/afflicted without a certificate and use of terms and letters falsely indicating right to practice medicine. He also admitted to a misdemeanor battery count.

Mocosco remains out of custody and faces a maximum possible penalty of five years in state prison at sentencing, set for next month.

Earlier this year, a plastic surgeon at the clinic, Gerald Schneider, surrendered his medical license following allegations that included allowing Moscoso to see patients.

According to the Medical Board of California’s allegations against Schneider, Moscoso’s consultations with patients sometimes included seeing them nude and touching their bodies.