One of two siblings accused of bilking more than 30,000 clients of a laser hair-removal company of more than 20 million dollars has been deported from Texas to face justice in Mexico.
After three years on the run, Javier Garza Martinez, the financial administrator of Neoskin, was eventually detained in San Antonio and returned to Mexico this week.
His sister, Luptia Garza, was also arrested in the United States but Mexican authorities have not confirmed her current legal situation.
Opened in 2004, Neoskin grew to 77 franchises nationwide (ten of them in Guadalajara) and also operated laser depilation clinics under the brands Definite and Maxima Laser.Neoskin suspended all of its activities without any notice to clients on November 3, 2008.
Estimates at the time suggested Neoskin had collected many millions of dollars in up-front money from clients nationwide.
According to Bernardo Altamirano Rodríguez, head of Mexico’s Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco), 28 criminal complaints have been filed in representation of 35,000 Neoskin customers.
Neoskin clients generally paid between 400 and 12,000 pesos in advance for a series of laser depillation sessions over more than a year (the price depended on the area to be treated). Appointment schedules at Neoskin clinics were booked months ahead, and because equipment was often out of order, many clients who had paid for the service may not have received even a single session.
A Neoskin legal representative explained that the owners had left the country because of a media smear campaign against the company and the extreme insecurity in Mexico.