Man, 25, Arrested After Selling 44,000 Fake Doctor Notes Online and Earning Over $1Million — As He Now Faces Ten Years in Prison
A man who sold thousands of fake doctor's notes has been arrested.
April 20 2026, Updated 3:20 p.m. ET
A man who sold over 44,000 fake doctor's notes to help others get out of work and still get paid has been busted, RadarOnline.com can report.
Now he's the one who needs an excuse, as he faces 10 years in prison.
Crime Details Revealed
The man would sell the notes, which could be used to get out of work, and pocketing over a million dollars.
The 25-year-old French man allegedly sold the fake notes for the equivalent of $25 each, raking in more than $1,000,000 in profit.
In France, a doctor's sick note allows an employee to stay away from work, while the French government covers part of their salary.
The fake doc was arrested on March 31 near Nantes, in the northwest of France, on charges including the illegal practice of medicine, fraud, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
Cosmetic Bust
Mayling Maya-Giraldo offered fake Botox procedures.
"Fake doctors" aren't merely a European problem. A Miami woman who allegedly pretended to be a cosmetic doctor was busted by the real-life police.
According to arresting officers, Mayling Maya-Giraldo operated her "business" from her personal Instagram account, in which she falsely referred to herself as a "doctor."
The page was populated with photos and videos of her performing cosmetic procedures such as Botox injections, lip filler, and laser treatments.
On Valentine's Day, the 31-year-old offered a special on Botox to smooth wrinkles on the face: "Unique price: $450."
Undercover investigators scheduled an appointment with Maya-Giraldo, and a Florida Department of Health medical quality assurance investigator pretended to be a patient before detectives swarmed in and arrested her.
Dangerous Tactics
She was arrested after an undercover operation for allegedly pretending to be a doctor.
Deputies arrested Maya-Giraldo, who was born in Colombia and lives in Downtown Miami, and booked her on three charges: Practicing health care without a license, possession of a drug with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver, and misrepresenting a license.
"Upon further inspection of the vial that [Maya-Giraldo] was going to use on [the undercover investigator], it was discovered that the product was Toxta," the detective wrote, according to a report. "Toxta requires a prescription for it to be dispensed, and it is a foreign and unapproved product from South Korea and cannot be dispensed in the United States."
Fake cosmetic doctors are a growing problem in the U.S., and the Food and Drug Administration announced last year it issued more than a dozen warning letters to owners of websites "illegally marketing unapproved and misbranded products" after adverse events that included botulism symptoms.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Autumn Bardisa claimed to be a licensed nurse.
Meanwhile, a woman who claimed to be a registered nurse in Florida and "treated" more than 4,000 patients without a license has been sentenced to probation and community service as part of a plea deal.
Autumn Bardisa, 29, must also serve 50 hours of community service and write an apology letter to the nurse whose license number she stole.
Authorities said she treated more than 4,486 patients between June 2024 and January 2025, while falsely presenting herself as a licensed nurse.
When she was first hired, Bardisa gave her bosses the license number of another woman and said the license had a different last name because she had gotten married.
In January 2025, Bardisa received a promotion, but when another employee checked her background, they discovered that Bardisa had an expired certified nursing assistant license.
