Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton revealed on Wednesday that eight people were indicted in connection with the state’s investigation into a midwife charged earlier this year for illegally performing abortions and practicing medicine without a license.
His announcement comes after authorities arrested Maria Margarita Rojas in March on charges of illegally operating a network of clinics in Northwest Houston. Rojas was accused of falsely portraying herself and employees as licensed medical professionals. She was also accused of performing abortions that violated restrictions set in place by the Texas Human Life Protection Act.
This week, Paxton said the state had identified and charged eight individuals who worked with Rojas in Waller, Cypress, Spring, and Katy. Some of them were foreign nationals, the attorney general’s office alleged.
“This cabal of abortion-loving radicals has been running illegal clinics staffed with unlicensed individuals who endangered the very people they pretended to help,” Paxton said in a statement. “Beyond being illegal, it is evil. These dens of fake doctors will not be allowed to operate in Texas. Those responsible will be held accountable. I will always protect innocent life and use every tool to enforce Texas’s pro-life laws.”
Those charged were identified as Yaimara Hernandez Alvarez, Alina Valeron Leon, Dalia Coromoto Yanez, Yhonder Lebrun Acosta, Liunet Grandales Estrada, Gerardo Otero Aguero, Sabiel Bosch Gongora, and Jose Manuel Cendan Ley.
The indictments were handed up Sept. 26, according to Waller County court records. Only one of the latest defendants charged is accused of illegally performing an abortion.
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Ley allegedly told investigators that he was trained as a doctor in Cuba and allowed customers at Rojas’s clinics to believe he was working as one in the United States, even though he was working without a license, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Rojas has pleaded not guilty in the court case. She faces 15 felony counts, including three for performing an abortion and 12 for practicing medicine without a license.
