Editor’s note: The State Medical Board of Ohio has permanently revoked Manish Gupta’s license. The story has been updated to reflect the order.
A former Toledo plastic surgeon has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly drugging and raping at least one unconscious woman, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Toledo.
Manish “Manny” Gupta, 49, of Sylvania, is federally charged with sex-trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; illegally dispensing a controlled substance, and a forfeiture specification that any property involved or intended to be used to commit the offense — including his medical license and electronics seized from his medical offices, residence, and person - are subject to being forfeited, according to the indictment, filed Thursday.
On March 9, Mr. Gupta executed a surrender of his license to practice medicine and surgery in Ohio with consent to permanent revocation, according to the State Medical Board of Ohio.
He owns three medical offices: Artisan Cosmetic Surgery at 7634 W. Central Ave. in Toledo, 1050 Isaac Streets Dr. in Oregon, and a third in Wayne County, Mich.
According to the indictment, Mr. Gupta solicited an adult female between Aug. 9, 2016, and Sept. 24, 2016, in reckless disregard of the fact that she would be used to engage in a commercial sex act, the indictment states. Additionally, on Sept. 23, 2016 and Sept. 24, 2016, Mr. Gupta dispensed a controlled substance with the intent to commit a crime of violence on that woman, records show.
He will be arraigned before a federal court judge at a later date.
More specifically, court records allege that Mr. Gupta traveled to medical conferences in large cities, including Chicago in March and April, 2013; Cleveland in April, 2013; Miami in June, 2015 and July, 2019; and Los Angelas in September, 2016.
The former doctor would stay in centrally-located hotels and hire escorts in the area, according to court records. During his encounters, he would allegedly administer drugs to the victims and perform sexual acts — often recording them on video.
During his initial appearance in court for the criminal complaint against him, federal prosecutors said they have found over 20 different victims on devices that Mr. Gupta allegedly recorded.
Additional charges are possible for Mr. Gupta, according to Department of Justice spokesman Daniel Ball. Due to the possible nature and scope of potential victims, federal and local law enforcement officials are asking anyone who may have been victimized by Mr. Gupta to contact the FBI at Ohiodoctortips@fbi.gov or call 216-622-6842.
FBI agents began investigating Mr. Gupta in January, 2019 for allegations that he performed sex acts on a woman referred to in court records by the initials “KB.”
In 2016, the woman worked as a high-end escort, and exchanged emails with Mr. Gupta to arrange a meeting in Los Angeles while the doctor was there for a plastic surgery convention, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman met Mr. Gupta on Sept. 23, 2016, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. The pair engaged in consensual sex, then went to dinner, then returned to the hotel, according to the complaint.
At one point the doctor gave her a glass of Prosecco, and shortly after, the woman had little recollection of the evening. She left the hotel room while the then doctor was in the bathroom.
She then went to the home of another client who was an anesthesiologist, where she took a home drug test that tested positive for a Benzodiazepine. After taking the test, the woman went to the Santa Monica/UCLA Medical Center for a rape exam, according to court documents.
She did not file a police report.
After her encounter with Mr. Gupta, the woman found similar accusations from March, 2013, through September, 2016, that other women had made on websites about him or a plastic surgeon from Toledo called “Dr. G.”
The FBI obtained a search warrant Dec. 30 for thumb drives in Mr. Gupta’s possession. Those thumb drives contained five videos of Mr. Gupta engaging in sex acts with four different conscious women, court documents say.
The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy found discrepancies in record-keeping for controlled substances at Mr. Gupta’s Toledo office in both 2016 and 2019 audits. Significant, unaccounted-for-losses of drugs, such as Ketamine, Valium, fentanyl, and morphine were discovered, and Mr. Gupta received a shipment of Ketamine two weeks prior to the alleged incident with KB. Records show the state board had issued him multiple warnings, the FBI said.
On Feb. 12, the State of Ohio Medical Board “received a complaint that Gupta had been raping women for years,” according to the court document.
Additional evidence was found after searching his residence and medical offices, his vehicle, and his cell phone, and other electronics.
First Published March 20, 2020, 6:16 p.m.
