Riverdale woman's death leads to charges over alleged unauthorized medical treatment

Luis Rojas Cabrera, a 55-year-old man from New Jersey, was charged with reckless endangerment and unauthorized practice of profession in connection with 27-year-old Riverdale resident Elizabeth Baron’s death, police said.

Cabrera works at Bereshit Lifestyle Center at 3190 Riverdale Avenue, according to the center’s website. He allegedly infused Baron with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide — also known as NAD+ — without a medical license or any other legal authority to do so, according to the criminal complaint from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.

NAD+ is a molecule in every cell of the body that helps turn food into energy, repairs DNA and supports metabolism, according to nonprofit academic medical center Cleveland Clinic. NAD+  levels decline with age, according to Cleveland Clinic, which has been linked to age-related illnesses such as glaucoma and arrhythmia.

Baron died July 19 around 1:09 p.m., the complaint states. According to police, Cabrera was arrested the same day around 9 p.m.

According to the complaint, Cabrera said he gave Baron a NAD+ IV, she immediately passed out and he called 911. He said that he is a doctor in the Dominican Republic, and has a physician assistant license in Puerto Rico, but is not a licensed doctor in New York, the complaint states. He said his application is pending, and he only has an esthetician license, according to the complaint.

“I made a very big mistake,” Cabrera said, according to the complaint. “I need to call my family because I have a feeling I will not be home for a while.”

Cabrera was released without bail, and the prosecutor did not request bail because he wants to await the autopsy results, according to the district attorney’s office.

Cabrera’s attorney is a part of nonprofit Bronx Defenders, which declined to comment on the case.

According to Bereshit Lifestyle Center’s website, Cabrera, or “Dr. Rojas,” is a doctor of medicine, a surgeon and a naturopath, which is a doctor that focuses on lifestyle changes and natural remedies.