A Seattle-area plastic surgery provider is facing a federal lawsuit for allegedly posting fake positive reviews online and intimidating or bribing patients to remove negative reviews, Washington state prosecutors said Thursday.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office says Allure Esthetic and its owner, Dr. Javad Sajan, misled patients and the public “through a multitude of unlawful, unfair and deceptive practices.” The company allegedly directed its employees to create fake email accounts in order to write and post fictitious positive reviews on sites including Google and Yelp.says. Other times, it offered patients cash and free services or products to take down negative reviews.
Allure didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. When called by an Associated Press reporter on Thursday, a person answering the phone for the company hung up three times. Victoria Hester said she made an appointment with Sajan in 2021 for a gender-affirming procedure based on positive reviews online. Speaking through tears at a news conference Friday alongside Ferguson, Hester said the appointment ended up causing “long-lasting trauma,” describing the doctor’s examination of her body as “demeaning.” Sajan refused to perform the procedure, Hester said.
Some patients who posted negative reviews were contacted by Allure with offers of cash or free services and products in exchange for removing their post. Patients who accepted the offer were then required to sign a second NDA obliging them to remove the review and refrain from posting negative reviews in the future under threat of a $250,000 fine, the lawsuit alleges.
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