TOLEDO, Ohio — Former Toledo-based plastic surgeon Manish Gupta was sentenced to about 19.5 years in prison for illegally dispensing controlled substances, aggravated sexual abuse, and sex trafficking. The charges came as part of an investigation into an incident of Gupta drugging, filming and having sex with a woman.
Gupta, 50, pleaded guilty to felony charges back in April after originally pleading not guilty to the charges against him. On Monday, he was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 235 months, a fine of $250,000 and more than $57,000 in restitution.
"Mr. Gupta meticulously planned his attacks, including which controlled substances to pull from his medical office so that he could incapacitate vulnerable women and record his sexual assaults," said Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan. "The brave women who spoke out, along with the dedicated work of the FBI and prosecutors assigned to this case, ensured that Mr. Gupta was brought to justice and will no longer be a threat to women."
At the time of his arrest in 2020, Gupta was a board-certified plastic surgeon and medical doctor licensed by the State of Ohio and Michigan and owned Artisan Cosmetic Surgery with two offices in Ohio and one in Michigan.
According to a court filing in U.S. District Court, an investigation into Gupta began in January 2019 alleging that he improperly drugged and performed sex acts on an adult female high-end escort in 2016 while Gupta was in Los Angeles.
The woman believes Gupta had drugged her to the point of unconsciousness.
The filing says the woman later took a purchased at-home drug test that tested positive for benzodiazepine, a psychoactive medication also known as tranquilizers.
Investigators obtained records from the Rape Treatment Center at the UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica where the woman underwent a rape exam.
The court filing says the woman then went online to find that multiple other women had claimed to have been drugged, raped, and likely video-recorded by Gupta.
According to court documents, Gupta traveled to medical conferences in large urban areas, including Chicago in March and April 2013, Cleveland in April of 2013, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale in June of 2015 and July 2019, Los Angeles in September of 2016 and various other dates in San Francisco and Detroit.
Gupta would often stay at a centrally located hotel in these cities, hire escorts in the area and administer incapacitating drugs in order to commit sexual acts of violence without consent.
Gupta often recorded these assaults and, prior to his travel, would ship a bag described in court documents as a "rape bag," containing drugs and recording equipment, to the hotel where he was staying.
In addition, according to the FBI, in 2014, an employee for Gupta found multiple SD cards containing videos of Gupta having sex with women who appeared to be unconscious.
The employee gave the content to another individual who then provided them to the FBI.
A federal search warrant was executed on March 6, 2020, for Gupta's residence, personal vehicle, and his two Lucas County offices where sex toys, camera equipment, SD cards, and a large amount of controlled substances were discovered in Gupta's private office.
Based on this information, a warrant was issued for Gupta's arrest. Gupta was booked in the Lucas County Jail after his arrest.
Gupta's offices were in Toledo, Oregon, and Taylor, Michigan.
Gupta was not employed by Mercy Health, nor ProMedica but he did have medical staff privileges and held a leadership position.
After learning of these criminal allegations, both health systems suspended him at all of their facilities.
His state license information online shows no previous board disciplinary action.
