Dr. Carlos Chacon, the Bonita plastic surgeon who pleaded guilty in the death of a patient, appears to have had an Arizona medical license renewed while he is serving a three-year prison sentence. The development has stunned the family of Megan Espinoza, who died after a 2018 breast augmentation at Chacon’s Divino Plastic Surgery clinic, and it is sharpening scrutiny of how state medical boards coordinate discipline across state lines.
Arizona Medical Board records show the board renewed Chacon’s Arizona license in September 2024 while he was incarcerated, according to NBC 7 San Diego. NBC 7 reported it reached out to Chacon’s attorney and the Arizona Medical Board for comment but received no response.
Chacon pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter last year and was given a three-year term as part of a plea deal, and he agreed to surrender his California medical license for life, according to ABC 10News. His nurse, Heather Lang Vass, earlier pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and received a two-year sentence.
Prosecutors' account of the botched operation
Prosecutors say Espinoza suffered a fatal heart attack after an excessive dose of anesthesia administered by an unlicensed nurse, and investigators allege Chacon waited about three hours before calling 911 while seeing other patients, according to court documents and reporting. That timeline and the allegation that staff were told not to summon emergency help are described in coverage by Law&Crime and local outlets.
Why lawyers and safety advocates are alarmed
Attorneys for Espinoza’s family say a renewed out-of-state license could let Chacon prescribe and order drugs if he were ever released, a risk they find unacceptable. Christian Jagusch, the physician-attorney who represented the family, told ABC 10News that the renewal is "alarming" and a danger to consumers.
Regulatory blind spots
Medical licensing is handled state-by-state, and boards use different tools, like interim consent agreements and practice restrictions, to limit a clinician’s authority, but those administrative steps do not always prevent routine renewals, experts note. Reporting says the Arizona Medical Board had previously restricted Chacon’s license as part of an interim agreement; see Law&Crime.
Legal implications
Chacon’s guilty plea resolved criminal exposure and included a three-year prison term and a lifetime surrender of his California license, according to Times of San Diego. The records and reporting from multiple outlets have prompted renewed calls for better coordination between state boards to close oversight gaps.
Family reaction
“The minimum sentencing of three years seems, well, painfully inappropriate,” Espinoza’s father, David Gorcey, told reporters at sentencing, according to Times of San Diego. The family said they had believed Chacon would never practice again, and news of the Arizona renewal reopened old wounds for them.
Reporters say they contacted both the Arizona Medical Board and Chacon’s attorney for comment and had not received responses by publication time, according to NBC 7 San Diego. The records now on public file will likely keep the case in the spotlight as families and patient-safety advocates press regulators for answers.
