UPDATE Kingsbridge/Riverdale: Man Arrested for Unauthorized Apply of Career after “Wellness” Center Buyer Dies

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD mentioned they’ve arrested 55-year-old Luis Rojas Cabrera of Passaic, New Jersey and that he has been charged with reckless endangerment and unauthorized follow of occupation after a 27-year-old lady was discovered unconscious at a wellness middle on the border of the Kingsbridge and Riverdale sections of The Bronx on Sunday, July 19, and died. Rojas Cabrera was arrested on Sunday, July 19, police mentioned.

According to at least one police supply, the girl was a buyer / affected person of Bereshit Wellness Center, the place she was discovered unconscious. The web site for the middle is www.drluisrojas.com.

Police mentioned that on Sunday, July 19, at round 1.10 p.m., police responded to a 911 name relating to an aided lady at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, situated at 5141 Broadway within the Inwood part of Northern Manhattan, simply south of Marble Hill.

“Upon arrival, officers were informed by hospital staff that a 27-year-old woman had been transported unconscious and unresponsive to the hospital from Bereshit Lifestyle Center, located at 3190 Riverdale Avenue [on the border of Kingsbridge and Riverdale], within the confines of the 50th Precinct,” a police spokesperson mentioned.

Police mentioned the girl was subsequently pronounced deceased and the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will decide the reason for loss of life. Following Rojas’ arrest, they mentioned the investigation stays ongoing. Asked if the sufferer had taken any treatment on the middle, police initially declined to say.

The deceased was later recognized as Elizabeth Baron of The Bronx.

Norwood News requested the NYPD if the Luis Rojas Cabrera who was arrested was a health care provider. The NYPD press spokesperson mentioned she didn’t have that data.

Later on Monday, police confirmed the sufferer had acquired some sort of treatment / product on the middle however they might not affirm, when requested, if it associated to Botox (or anti-aging treatment).

On the homepage of the positioning, www.drluisrojas.com, an extract reads, “Welcome to Bereshit Lifestyle Center.”

Norwood News contacted NYC Department of Health (DOH) for touch upon the incident, to ask what sort of license the middle holds, if any, and whether or not it’s now indefinitely closed.

We had been referred by the City’s well being division to New York State Department of Health and NYS Department of Education (DOE). We adopted up with the State well being division and a consultant referred us to the New York State division (DOS). We later contacted each DOS and DOE.

A DOS spokesperson referred us again to the State well being division “as they license medical practitioners” and to the NYS DOE “as they [the latter] license this spas.”

The DOS spokesperson additionally mentioned that in January 2026, it was introduced that over 200 inspections performed statewide of “Med Spa Service Providers” had resulted in suspensions, revocations, and fines. In the announcement, it was famous that improper companies have precipitated severe accidents and added {that a} enterprise that’s selling itself as a ‘med spa’ or providing ‘med spa’ companies MUST be licensed as a medical facility and licensed professionals should be performing the companies.

See under for extra data on file complaints for anybody who has considerations relating to such spas:

• Know file complaints: Consumers have to file complaints with the suitable authority.

The Bereshit Lifestyle Center just isn’t described as a spa on its web site. It’s described by the web site, Yelp, as among the many prime 10 naturopathic/holistic entities. Meanwhile, services provided on the middle, in line with its personal web site, drluisrojas.com, embody a weight reduction and detox program, a wellness equipment, “RemedeMD,” hydrotherapy, geotherapy, aromatherapy, spinal stretching, urinalysis, saliva evaluation, hair mineral evaluation, genetic testing, and consultations, together with video consultations.

Norwood News adopted up as soon as once more with DOH and DOE and in addition requested for data relating to any potential complaints filed in respect of the middle.

A State DOH spokesperson subsequently referred us to DOE for details about skilled licensure “as they are the agency that licenses physicians to practice in New York.” We are following up with DOE and can share any updates we obtain.

Meanwhile, NYC Department of Health supplied the next data relating to “Botox” security. We requested if she may affirm if the sufferer had acquired Botox injections previous to her loss of life. A consultant mentioned she couldn’t affirm.

Botulinum Toxin Injection Safety

Getting botulinum toxin (“Botox”) from unlicensed folks or from folks utilizing counterfeit or faux merchandise can pose severe well being dangers.

Since 2024, circumstances of extreme reactions, together with the uncommon and typically deadly illness botulism, have been linked to unlicensed botulinum toxin administration, “do-it-yourself” injections, and counterfeit botulinum toxin merchandise in NYC. These extreme reactions have led to hospitalizations and intensive care admissions.

To shield your well being, obtain botulinum toxin injections solely from licensed medical professionals licensed to prescribe and administer these therapies.

Safety Tips

If you might be contemplating a botulinum toxin injection for a medical situation or beauty purpose (comparable to for wrinkles):

• Ask your supplier if they’re licensed and educated to offer the injection.
• Do not settle for injections from unlicensed suppliers.
• Ask if the botulinum toxin product getting used is accepted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and obtained from a dependable supply.
  • Botulinum toxin injections can be found beneath manufacturers like Botox, Daxxify, Dysport, Jeuveau, and Xeomin.
  • Ask to see the treatment vial used for the injection.
• Avoid suspicious companies promoting botulinum toxin injections at unusually low costs or exterior medical settings.
• When doubtful, don’t get the injection.

After getting a botulinum toxin injection:

Who Can Prescribe and Administer Botulinum Toxin Injections

Under New York state regulation, Botox and different botulinum toxin injections could also be given solely by educated, licensed professionals who often carry out such a care. To affirm that the individual giving your injection is a licensed skilled, go to the New York State Professional Verification Search on-line. Select “Search by Name” and choose the supplier’s occupation to seek out their license data.

The following suppliers (license codes in parentheses) are licensed to offer botulinum toxin injections:

• Physicians (060)
• Physician assistants (023)
• Nurse practitioners (029)
• Dentists (050)
• Podiatrists (070)
• Registered nurses (022)
• Licensed sensible nurses (010)

Aestheticians and cosmetologists are not licensed to follow drugs. Administering botulinum toxin injections possible constitutes the follow of medication beneath New York regulation. Engaging within the follow of medication and not using a medical license can lead to felony costs, together with felony penalties.

Additional Resources

A go to to the Kingsbridge location on Monday discovered it shut. An individual, probably a resident, of the constructing situated subsequent door, was requested if he knew if the middle was busy typically, and he appeared to counsel that it was not. We spoke to a different man on the quiet, seemingly residential avenue on which the middle is situated, and requested if he knew something concerning the middle and he mentioned he didn’t, and was simply there selecting up his youngsters at a close-by daycare.

At the placement, on the door of the premises, Rojas is described as an “alternative and holistic health practitioner.” A inexperienced sticker was additionally seen on the door for hfaloan.com. A google seek for this website directs customers to a web site referred to as paybyhfa.com.

An extract from the latter website reads, “Care providers shouldn’t have to watch good patients walk out because they can’t afford care today. And they shouldn’t have to spend hours chasing down payments that may never come. Pay By HFA offers 100% guaranteed financing for all patients–instantly—and deposits your money in days, not years.”

HFA is situated at 1000 Corporate Centre Drive, Suite 100, Franklin, TN 37067 in line with its web site.

Another sticker on the door of the premises indicated that the premises had been disinfected consistent with “the CDC and OSHA’s guidelines for reopening.” This might have been in reference to a closure amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent reopening. The sticker was from Advantage Cleaning LLC.

Meanwhile, one other part of the middle’s web site references “Dr. Luis A. Rojas,” described as an M.D., surgeon, naturopath, a full member of the Dominican Medical College, Dominican College of Surgeons, and the Superior Council of Natural Medicine within the Dominican Republic.

An extra web site extract reads, “I am a member of the Hispanic Health Professionals Association of New York, Inc. I am U.S. Board Certified by the A.A.D.P. in Holistic Health, U.S. Board Certified by the A.A.M.A in Alternative Medicine. I am currently based in New York City and  I am the founder of Bereshit Lifestyle Center. I feel to a great degree fortunate that for as far back as 30 years I have been given the opportunity to do something I completely enjoy. It gives me great pleasure to help individuals gain improvement in their health condition and lifestyle through natural methods and simple therapies.”

Dr. Rojas’s “Story” is additional outlined on the web site as follows: “I come from a family of medical professionals, I was exposed at an early age to the joy it brought my mother in helping others at her clinic based in the Dominican Republic. At the age of 11, I was allowed to assist my mother in various nursing and medical procedures, thus causing an immense desire to continue studying in the area of nursing and medicine.”

The story continues, “I eventually enrolled at the Universidad Tecnologica de Santiago en Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1990 and graduated in 1995 as a physician. A few years later in 2002 I graduated as a surgeon from Salvador B. Gautier Hospital located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I was also fortunate to train in several surgical specialties, such as head and neck, bariatric, laparoscopic, and other types of surgeries as well as in alternative, integrative and naturopathic medicines abroad in places like Israel, France, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.”

The extract continues, “I initially worked as a nurse and then as a doctor at the Medical Center Maranatha which was the medical center founded by my mother. I was founding physician of the medical clinic at a prison located at kilometro 15 in Azua, Dominican Republic. I was chief resident during my  general surgery residency and then chief of emergency at the hospital Salvador B. Gautier.”

The web site story extract continues, “I was medical specialist and collaborated with the development of more than 100 surgeons during their medical residencies in hospitals such as: Salvador B. Gautier, Francisco Moscoso Puello, U.C.E university medical center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I was part of a surgical team that belonged to Public Health (SESPAS), which conducted operations  every weekend in all public hospitals across the country in order to reduce the waiting list of patients who required surgical intervention.”

It concludes, “I worked in the medical center Vista del Jardin as a surgeon and naturopathic physician. I assist in the development of naturopathic physicians in the Universidad Nacional Evangelica (UNEV), in addition I taught courses in natural hygienist medicine, nutrition, ozone therapy, magnet therapy, alternative and integrative medicine in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and the United States. Currently I have performed over 6,000 Surgeries including thyroid, abdominal, bariatric, oncology, head and neck, among others. I am currently an active surgeon and Naturopath in the Dominican Republic and an alternative and holistic medicine practioner in the United States.”

A name to at least one quantity listed on the middle’s web site on Monday went to voicemail. The mailbox was full. Another name positioned with a second listed quantity went to the a teenager who mentioned he was the son of Dr. Luis Rojas. His son agreed to take a message on behalf of his father. Norwood News will share any suggestions we obtain. 

A 3rd quantity listed on the web site was for a Fairlawn, New Jersey-based quantity and went to a normal voicemail with no indication of whose quantity is was. Norwood News left a message and requested remark.

Norwood News additionally despatched an e-mail request for remark to the e-mail listed on the identical web site and an automatic out of workplace reply referred us to the New York City Department of Health for “urgent inquiries.” 

Another part of the identical web site, www.drluisrojas.com, which lists Bereshit Wellness Center on its homepage, advertises new antiviral kits. Another part talks about therapies for numerous diseases.

A motto on the middle’s web site reads, “Running Towards Nature, may your food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”

Rojas Cabrera is presumed harmless until and till convicted in a court docket of regulation.

Click right here to learn our prior story about an abortion clinic within the Morris Park part of The Bronx which closed in March 2024, with seemingly no clarification.

As reported, on Monday, July 20, a 35-year-old man was stabbed within the neighborhood of the middle and stays hospitalized in important situation. It’s unknown if the 2 incidents are associated. Police are investigating and mentioned the mobilization level (for police) for the stabbing was on the deal with for the middle at 3190 Riverdale Avenue however the stabbing occurred in its neighborhood.