Undocumented immigrant charged with illegal dentistry did procedures in NC, prosecutors say

By WAVY staff
Published: July 25, 2017, 11:29 am


Carlos Vargas (WAVY)


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – A man is behind bars in Virginia Beach, accused of doing illegal dental procedures in Virginia Beach.

Prosecutors say 54-year-old Carlos Vargas has been on the run for the last two years. He was wanted for doing alleged invasive dental procedures in back in 2012 and 2013. Prosecutors say he was doing the procedures out of his home and in North Carolina.

State police initially charged one Carlos Vargas, but then realized it was the wrong man. When they went looking for the other Carlos Vargas, he was gone. Court documents say Vargas had at least five patients and didn’t have a Virginia dental license.

“It could actually be life-threatening,” said Virginia Beach dentist Dr. Christopher Hooper.

Dr. Hooper has a practice in Virginia Beach where he says they go out of the way to keep patients safe. He says the idea that someone would be accused of doing dental work at home is a scary thought.

“To have someone trying to do any kind of dentistry outside of their home in a non-licensed environment is just completely inappropriate,” Hooper added.

Court documents say Vargas, who is from Nicaragua, is currently living in Maryland. He was picked up trying to get back into the country in Miami.

Prosecutors say he is an undocumented immigrant who was doing work on other undocumented immigrants. Hooper tells us he hates to hear something like that.

“There may be a language barrier,” Hooper said. “They find someone who — that kind of feels like their friend and then they go and have an unfortunate situation.”

Vargas is currently being held in the Virginia Beach jail without bond. He declined our request for an on-camera interview.

http://wncn.com/2017/07/25/undocumen...osecutors-say/