Ex-Doctor to Stars Faces New Charges

A former Los Angeles physician is accused of continuing to practice medicine at his Brentwood home months after the state medical board stripped him of his license for improperly prescribing drugs to Winona Ryder and other Hollywood celebrities.

Jules Mark Lusman, 50, is scheduled to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom today on four felony counts and four misdemeanor counts related to unlicensed cosmetic medical procedures he allegedly performed on two women at his South Westgate Avenue condominium.

The former surgeon, said by the state medical board to have provided prescription painkillers to celebrities on a “cash-and-carry basis,” was arrested July 3 by state investigators. Lusman was released from custody on $90,000 bail after six days in the county jail.

“Mr. Lusman has entered a not-guilty plea to the alleged charges and we are looking to put an end to this matter as soon as possible,” said his attorney, Kendric Rollins.

Pending a preliminary hearing, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ordered Lusman, a native of South Africa, to surrender his passport and remain in the Los Angeles area. Lusman also was told, for a second time, not to practice medicine or dispense medications.

Lusman is accused of injecting Perlane into two women at his condominium in March and May. Perlane, which has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for cosmetic use, is a synthetic filler that, like collagen, can be used for plumping lips. Lusman also is accused of injecting one of the women, Joanne Hartman, with Botox, used to smooth out frown lines, forehead creases, crow’s-feet and neck bands.

The other woman, Judy Henderson, was displeased with the results of the treatments, according to the June 10 search warrant affidavit signed by state investigator Gabriel Sanchez.

After complaining to Lusman, she checked the California Medical Board Web site for his license and record. That’s when she discovered his license had been revoked in December after five investigations into accusations of excessive treatment, incompetence, violations of drug statutes and prescribing drugs without a medical examination.

Henderson told investigators during a May interview that she had contacted Lusman in March on the recommendation of a former patient who was a friend. Lusman told her he had a new product, Perlane, that he believed in so much he had bought stock in the company, according to the affidavit. They agreed on a price of $700 for the treatment, the affidavit said.

When Henderson became uneasy after discovering that the treatment would take place in a condominium rather than a medical office, Lusman cut the price to $600, the affidavit said.

When bumps remained on her face a week after the treatment, she complained to Lusman, who reluctantly agreed to meet with her at his home. He told her she needed psychiatric help, according to the affidavit. When he refused her a refund, she contacted authorities.

The $600 fee the woman allegedly paid for the Perlane treatment was small compared with the $3,000 retainer Lusman often charged while still a licensed physician, prosecutors said.

As a doctor, he specialized in making house calls to celebrities, examining some of them only briefly before prescribing painkillers, including the potentially addictive Demerol, records show. His patients included Ryder and Courtney Love.

Lusman’s problems started while practicing in South Africa. He was disciplined by medical authorities there for “improper prescription of medications to a patient.”