Former Plastic Surgeon Headed to Prison

A local doctor faced lawsuits, a license suspension, then criminal charges. Now former Boynton Beach plastic surgeon Mark Schreiber is headed to prison.

Tuesday Schreiber was in a West Palm Beach court room to take a plea deal. Also on hand: four former patients.

"It was supposed to be a breast lift," explained Cara Hart of Boynton Beach. She said Schreiber botched the procedure. And even though weeks later he had his license suspended, Hart says Schreiber convinced her to keep seeing him for follow-up care.

"My feeling is he did not want me to go to another physician to see what he had done," said Hart. "When I did finally go, the first question the surgeon asked me was, 'Who did that to you and is he a real doctor?'"

In the summer of 2005, a woman claimed Schreiber inappropriately touched her. Weeks later the state suspended Schreiber's medical license. For seeing patients for follow-up care while the license was suspended, in 2007 prosecutors charged Schreiber with practicing without a license.

In court Schreiber addressed the judge. "I truly truly thought in my heart of hearts, I was doing the right thing as a physician and as a human being" seeing the patients, Schreiber said.

Under the plea deal, Schreiber will serve two years in prison and a year probation. He has also paid $15,000 apiece to four victims.

"That is not enough," reacted Hart. "He should be getting the maximum for all the people that he hurt."

Sherri DiLorenzo agreed. "He got away too easy, way too easy," she said.

Both Hart and DiLorenzo said other surgeons tried to correct what Schreiber had done. But both claim they have permanent disfigurement because of Schreiber's actions.

DiLorenzo said on her final visit to Schreiber, she saw the doctor use cocaine. "He had a little pile and he was putting it up his nose," said DiLorenzo. "He had no problem doing it right in front of me." After that, DiLorenzo said she never returned.

Schreiber voluntarily gave up his medical license in 2006. He will never practice again, as part of the deal approved by the judge.