Joao Batista Cunha De Araujo, a 57-year-old Brazilian national dubbed “Dr. Frankenstein” by critics, has fled the United States for Brazil after cutting off his court-ordered ankle monitor days before he was set to stand trial in Miami-Dade County on 14 fraud-related charges.
The Underlying Charges
Araujo faced 13 felony counts, including organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, and unlicensed practice of medicine, tied to cosmetic procedures performed at a wellness center he ran with his wife in Aventura. He was arrested after anonymous tips led authorities to send an undercover detective to the office, where the detective was allegedly quoted a price for chin liposuction.
How He Got Away
Araujo had surrendered his passport under a court order and was placed on GPS ankle monitoring while awaiting trial. His monitor triggered a tamper alert on August 1, three days before his trial was set to begin, and authorities have not been able to locate him since. A Miami judge revoked his house arrest and authorized his extradition, though Brazil generally does not extradite its own citizens, meaning Araujo may never face the charges.
His Own Words
Araujo told a Brazilian journalist he “escaped the U.S.” and is “a fugitive now. With honor.”
The Family Connection to a Bigger Story
Araujo’s wife, Amanda Ungaro, has drawn her own separate scrutiny this year: she was brought to the U.S. as a teenager on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane and was later deported to Brazil after a tip led authorities to the same Aventura wellness center. Ungaro has said her deportation, which followed a bitter custody dispute over her son with her ex-partner, Trump administration envoy Paolo Zampolli, was politically motivated; Zampolli has denied requesting her detention.
