Agustin Huerta has allegedly performed aesthetic surgery on at least 43 patients, but there's one small problem -- Huerta, a medical doctor, is not a plastic surgeon.

Huerta faces about 8 years in prison if convicted on charges of fraud, medical irresponsibility, severe damages, and professional usurpation, according to lead prosecutor Elsa Arias.

"He was operating left and right for easy money and didn’t perform the proper follow-up treatments," she says. "He knew he didn’t have the seven years of training required for those surgeries. He was lying."

Arias said Huerta distributed business cards reading in English "Cosmetic and Aesthetic Surgeon." Huerta, she explains, would often pressure patients to undergo surgery immediately, boasting he could make them look like the Mexican pop star Thalia.

Many were left with severe infections, disfiguring facial scars, lopsided breasts, or lumpy stomachs, she adds.

Such cases are surprisingly common. Recently, Mexican authorities detained a man in the border state of Coahuila for working as a doctor for more than 30 years with nothing but an accountant’s degree. Arias made her name prosecuting former stripper Miriam Yukie Gaona, dubbed the "Beautykiller," for allegedly injecting industrial silicone and other substances into hundreds of women.

No one keeps records on how many US citizens travel south for medical procedures, but anecdotal evidence suggests the number is growing.