Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Felipe Hoyos Foronda pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 31-year-old Maria Penaloza who suffered cardiac arrest in a makeshift surgical clinic set up in the defendant’s Astoria apartment in March 2025. Hoyos Foronda, who was not licensed to practice medicine in the United States, attempted to flee the country after the botched surgical procedure. Penaloza died two weeks after the incident.
District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant, who lacked a medical license, performed a surgical procedure on the victim in his home. During the procedure, he injected a deadly dose of anesthesia into the young mother, and it led to her death. He then went to JFK Airport to flee responsibility. He has now pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will face a prison sentence of up to 15 years.”
Hoyos Foronda, 40, of Astoria, pleaded guilty today to manslaughter in the second degree in satisfaction of the indictment. Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant ordered him to return to court July 30 when she indicated she would sentence the defendant to five to 15 years in prison.
DA Katz said that according to the charges and investigation, on March 28, 2025, Maria Penaloza arrived at Hoyos Foronda’s Astoria apartment at approximately 1 p.m. for the removal of buttock implants. She was accompanied by a friend who waited in the apartment’s living room while Penaloza went into an adjacent room for the procedure.
Hoyos Foronda gave the victim lidocaine, which is a local anesthetic, and saline through a syringe. Penaloza became lightheaded and went into cardiac arrest.
When an ambulance crew arrived, Penaloza was unconscious on a medical chair. She was taken to a local hospital where she showed no sign of brain activity. She was removed from life support on April 11, 2025.
Hoyos Foronda, who did not have a license to practice medicine in the United States, was apprehended on March 28, 2025, at John F. Kennedy International Airport by a Port Authority Police officer as he attempted to board a flight to Florida with an ultimate destination of Colombia.
A court-authorized search warrant of the defendant’s home found medical equipment including a metal IV stand, multiple injectables on the shelves, syringes, a bin to discard needles and various other medical supplies
An autopsy found that Penaloza died of lidocaine toxicity following the injection of lidocaine for anesthesia during a cosmetic procedure.
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