CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A local doctor who may have overstated his credentials is being held responsible for the death of a Chula Vista woman he operated on recently.

According to family members, 48-year-old Lourdes Trinidad underwent a liposuction procedure performed by Dr. Louis May Villanueva of Bonita.

Family members said Trinidad was a healthy and active pharmacy technician who opted for liposuction and went to May's Millennium Cosmetic and Laser Institute in Tijuana for the procedure.

"The doctor assured her it was real simple, it was a real simple procedure," said Trinidad's brother, Sergio Salazar.

It ended up becoming a deadly procedure, although Trinidad's family has yet to receive a good explanation as to why it turned out that way.

"We're just shocked and we're amazed that a doctor like that could just leave, could leave her there by herself," said Trinidad's brother, Bernard.

Trinidad's mother is warning others, not just because of her daughter's death, but what happened after. The family said May disappeared.

"He was nowhere to be found ... The doctor was gone," said Salazar.

The family said after Trinidad's accounts were frozen when she died Saturday, May still wanted his $2,000.

"On Monday, we get a call from the bank that said he tried to cash it. He had the nerve to try to cash the check that killed her," said Bernard Trinidad.

10News visited May's Bonita home for his version of events, but he was not there.

May said he is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, but 10News learned from academy officials that he is not a member.

Additionally, May also claims membership in the American College of Phlebology, but any member of the public who wants to learn about leg veins is allowed to join.

"We don't want any money from him. We want to stop him from doing this again to someone else," said Bernard Trinidad.

Trinidad's family will bury her Thursday, and they continue to question whether it was a complication or incompetence that led to her death.

10News contacted May's clinic and they said they did not have any information right now.

10news also contacted the Ministry of Health in Tijuana to determine if May is fully licensed, but there has been no response.