A Seattle-based plastic surgery center was fined $5 million for threatening patients with illegal nondisclosure agreements and falsifying online reviews to inflate their surgeon owners' reputation, according to a July 2 news release from Washington's Office of the Attorney General.
Washington's attorney general sued Allure Esthetic and its owner Javad Sajan, MD, in 2022, alleging the group went to extreme measures to control public online reviews and forced patients to sign the NDAs from 2017 to 2019. The lawsuit also alleged Allure threatened to sue patients who didn't take down a negative review and offered free services in exchange.
In April, a District Court Judge ruled that Allure Esthetic requiring patients to sign NDAs illegally restricted them from posting negative reviews. Among other transgressions, Allure ordered employees to post fake reviews, as well as paid staff and contractors to vote for Dr. Sajan as the best plastic surgeon in local media outlet competitions.
Of the $5 million, $1.5 million will be given as restitution to 21,000 Washington residents. Additionally, the patients who were forced to sign the NDAs will receive $50, and patients who paid a consultation fee before they were forced to sign the illegal NDA will each receive $120.
Allure Esthetic must also remove all the fake reviews, pay a third-party firm to perform a full, independent audit of Allure’s consumer rebate program and cease all use of NDAs, among other requirements.
Becker's has reached out to Allure and will update the story if more information becomes available.