Granite City Woman, Chicago-Area Man Charged With Practicing Medicine Without A License

GRANITE CITY – Two individuals accused of performing dental surgery without a license from inside a Granite City home both face felony charges in Madison County.

Idania J. Morena-Paal, 41, of the 2500 block of Iowa Street in Granite City, and Rodolfo J. Figuera, 59, of Rolling Meadows, Ill., were both charged on Feb. 24, 2026 with practicing medicine without a license. Morena-Paal faces two Class 4 felony counts of the offense, while Figuera faces one count, also a Class 4 felony.

The two allegedly treated and operated on another person without a valid license to practice medicine or dentistry on Sept. 6, 2025. Morena-Paal reportedly “held herself out to the public as being engaged in the treatment of physical ailments or conditions” on Oct. 19, 2025, according to charging documents.

A search warrant was executed at Morena-Paal’s home on Oct. 30, 2025 by a detective with the Granite City Police Department. Various items were seized from the residence, including dental equipment, narcotics and medicine, $1,254 in U.S. currency, six cell phones, as well as notes, ledgers, and bank statements.

Two weeks prior on Oct. 16, 2025, the victim reported to police she had received dental care from Morena-Paal between mid-August and Sept. 6, 2025. According to court documents, the victim alleged that Morena-Paal “used ‘WhatsApp’ to advertise dental care for the Hispanic community” and commonly provided dental care to those without insurance.

The victim reported paying $850 in cash to have her molar fixed on Sept. 4, 2025; the operation allegedly took place inside Morena-Paal’s home, where the victim said Morena-Paal “used a large needle to inject an unknown substance into her tongue and tooth” and provided her with pain medication.

After the procedure, the victim reported that her tooth became infected. When she notified Morena-Paal of the infection, she was told to return to Morena-Paal’s residence on Sept. 6, 2025, where she met with Morena-Paal and “an older Hispanic male known as the ‘Doctor’ or ‘Surgeon’ who travels to Granite City from the Chicago, Ill. area.”

Morena-Paal and the “Surgeon,” later identified as Figuera, allegedly surgically extracted the victim’s infected tooth before Morena-Paal provided the victim with more pain medication and medication for the infection. In the days that followed, the victim reported her infection became worse and spread to her ears, “causing fluid to leak from her ears.” The victim received emergency medical treatment at two area hospitals on Sept. 8 and 10, 2025.

On Oct. 19, 2025, Morena-Paal posted images on her WhatsApp social media page showing dental equipment, a surgical syringe, and blood-covered teeth laying on a surgical tray with captions indicating the photos were taken during a wisdom tooth extraction procedure performed inside her home.

The Granite City Police Department presented both cases against Morena-Paal and Figuera, both of whom were ordered released from custody pending trial.

All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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