Diamond-dealing billionaire died during penis enlargement operation – surgeon is given suspended sentence in France

A plastic surgeon in France has been given a suspended sentence after his diamond dealing billionaire client died during a penis enlargement surgery. 

Belgian-Israeli Ehud Arye Laniado died after suffering a heart attack in the Saint-Honoré-Ponthieu clinic in Paris’ 8th arrondissement. 

The 65-year-old was having injections in his penis to make it larger at the time of his death. 

Prosecutors initially opened a manslaughter investigation following his passing, which was quickly changed to charges of failure to assist a person in danger, drug offences, and practising medicine without a licence. 

They also discovered that Laniado, a bodybuilding enthusiast, had been taking banned substances as well as chemicals used to help men fight erectile dysfunction in the lead up to his death. 

Surgeon Guy H. was given a 15-month suspended sentence, while his assistant surgeon, who was standing in for him at the time of the operation, was given a 12-month suspended sentence. 

Both doctors, in their 70s, have now been banned from practising medicine and were made to pay respective fines of €50,000 (£43,000) and €20,000 (£17,000).  

A French court heart that emergency services were initially called at 8pm on March 2 2019, the night Laniado died, before they were called again two hours later. 

One defendant claimed that the first call was only made at Laniado’s insistence, as he was suffering from abdominal pains. Despite this, he elected to continue with his surgery. 

The bodybuilder was known for visiting the clinic two to four times a year for procedures that cost tens of thousand of euros each time. 

A judicial source told Le Parisien that the injection into the penis was quickly ruled out as the cause of the diamond dealer’s death. 

A source close to the case said: ‘It’s easy to say in hindsight that the heart attack started [at the 8pm call], but since the patient had an ulcer, it was impossible to consider a heart problem, and emergency services wouldn’t have been called out for such a minor issue.’

An autopsy revealed the billionaire had died of cardiac hypertrophy. Investigators who searched his hotel room at the luxurious five-star Plaza Athénée hotel found he had been taking several substances that were banned in France, as well as vasodilators that can facilitate erections. 

A judicial source added that the material found in his hotel room is ‘likely what caused his death.’ 

Further investigation revealed that the assistant surgeon had not been registered with the French Medical Association, even though she had been working in the nation for over 20 years. 

On top of this, the degrees she obtained in Algeria were not recognised as legitimate in France. 

These issues did not stop Guy H. from employing her as a surgery assistant. 

Despite his death, Laniado’s family received no compensation. 

Martin Reynaud, the lawyer who defended the surgeon, said following the end of the case: ‘It’s a sober, clear, and calming decision. There was something futile and sad about trying to find someone responsible at all costs, following a purely accidental death.’