A 34-year-old California woman died in April a day after receiving a cosmetic surgery procedure in a hotel near San Francisco, and the 50-year-old Florida woman who administered the botched silicone injection faces criminal charges in San Mateo County, officials said.
Christina Ashten Gourkani, of San Jose, went to the San Francisco Airport Marriott in Burlingame on April 19 and received injections in her buttocks from Vivian Alexandra Gomez, of Port Royal, Florida, San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe told SFGATE on the phone Wednesday.
Gourkani went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to a hospital, where she died April 20, a family member said on a GoFundMe page. “Our family received a tragic phone call from a family member who was frantically screaming and crying [hysterically] on the other end of the line….Ashten is dying…Ashten is dying…A phone call that instantly shattered our world and will forever haunt our family for the rest of our lives,” the GoFundMe page said.
Gourkani was “an imitator of Kim Kardashian,” Wagstaffe told SFGATE, and she received the injections to enlarge her rear end. Gomez gave Gourkani at least two injections, according to the DA. “Very quickly, she went into medical distress and then convulsions. She was rushed to the hospital,” Wagstaffe said. “She had an embolism. It killed her because you can’t inject silicone straight into the bloodstream.”
Gourkani was a model and posted images in which she emulated the reality star and social media influencer on her Instagram page, which has over 640,000 followers. “She has done TikTok and YouTube videos,” the DA said. She was also a travel blogger, social media influencer, cosplay artist, California state licensed insurance agent and business entrepreneur, according to her personal website, AshtenEmpire.
“If you knew Ashten you knew that everyone mattered to her,” the GoFundMe page said. “She was such a caring and loving free spirit that always took the time to bring a smile to anyone’s face she crossed paths with.”
Gomez, 50, was arrested April 20 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and her luggage was collected by law enforcement as evidence, according to the DA. She was booked into the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Broward County on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license, according to inmate records. Wagstaffe said Gomez faces up to four years in prison.
“Some people have asked why she’s not being charged with murder,” Wagstaffe said. “It’s because we can’t show that she intentionally tried to kill her or did it knowing she could kill her.”
Gomez is scheduled to appear in Redwood City’s Hall of Justice for an arraignment at 1:30 p.m. on May 22.