An unlicensed cosmetologist was sentenced to four years in prison Monday after a woman died undergoing an illegal silicone butt injection procedure in a Burlingame hotel in 2023.
On April 19, 2023, Christina Gourkani and her fiancee met with Vivian Gomez, a Florida resident who operated an unlicensed cosmetology business. Gourkani was a lookalike of Kim Kardashian and had an online following.
Gomez flew to San Francisco International Airport and met Gourkani at the Marriott hotel in Burlingame, where Gomez administered the butt injections. Gluteal silicone injections are disapproved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration due to associated health risks.
Gourkani quickly fell ill and her fiancee called 911. She was taken to Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, where she died the next day of respiratory failure and a pulmonary embolism, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
Gomez immediately returned to Florida, where she was arrested on a warrant issued in San Mateo County. She was transferred back to San Mateo County to face charges of involuntary manslaughter. She posted a $200,000 bond and remained out of custody.
After a two-week trial in March and three hours of deliberation, a San Mateo County Superior Court jury found Gomez guilty of involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license. Judge Leland Davis ruled for Gomez to stay in custody with no bail until Monday’s sentencing hearing.
At the sentencing hearing Monday, victim impact statements from Gourkani’s family were read out. Davis denied probation for Gomez, finding that she was “an active participant in the infliction of death to the victim,” according to court notes from the District Attorney’s Office.
He sentenced Gomez to four years in prison. Gomez told the court she did not want to appeal her sentence.
Geoffrey Carr, one of Gomez’s defense attorneys, agreed with the sentencing decision and said in an interview that the four-year prison term was what her attorneys had bargained for since the beginning.
“She’s a very nice woman,” Carr said about Gomez. “She was willing to accept responsibility for involuntary manslaughter a long time ago.”
A restitution hearing is scheduled for July 20.
