AUSTIN (KXAN) The CEO of the medical training facility MedtoMarket is accused of providing human remains for unauthorized experimentation using embalming fluid, according to the Austin Police Department.

Aaron Ali is the second person to face charges related to the case of alleged “experiments” on corpses, APD said.

During a press conference Wednesday, Detective Bryce Bishop said Ali is charged with aggravated perjury and abuse of a human corpse. Ali turned himself in at the Travis County jail Monday and was released on bond.

“The charges are completely unfounded,” Ali’s attorney Eric J.R. Nichols told affiliate KXAN in a statement Tuesday.

Fraudulent death certificates under investigation in Texas

Adeline Bui, the owner of Capital Mortuary Services, was the first to be arrested in the case last week. Bui, who is facing corpse abuse and government-record tampering charges, is accused of forging death certificates and running “experiments” on severed limbs.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Bishop said the investigation started with a complaint to the Texas Funeral Commission by a former embalmer at Capitol Mortuary Services. The person told the commission that his name and mortuary credentials were used to file for fraudulent death certificates.

The complainant also told investigators about Bui’s “experiments.” The Texas Funeral Commission then reached out to Austin Police.

Earlier this month, APD detectives “reviewed evidence related to the investigation,” Bishop said.

“The evidence included a project thread that was titled ‘Freedom Art Experiment.’ The thread showed materials including photos of severed arms and discussions on tissue decomposition, mold growth, and the use of materials like fishing line to suture the specimens,” Bishop explained.

The detective said APD confirmed “at least one body was being abused.”

Meanwhile, Bishop said the original complainant’s name was used 129 times to file for fraudulent death certificates at Capitol Mortuary Services.

How MedtoMarket is allegedly involved

After their initial review of evidence, APD investigators executed a search warrant at Capitol Mortuary Services on April 10. Bui was interviewed the same day and allegedly told police that she was working with MedtoMarket on the “experiments.”

These “experiments,” according to Bui’s arrest affidavit, involved her injecting formaldehyde into arms to see “the effect it had over time on severed extremities.” She guessed around 15 bodies were “mutilated and subject to experimentation with the permission of MedtoMarket and was updating the company on the outcomes,” the records show.

In a search warrant obtained by KXAN, investigators requested access to two devices, an iPhone and an iPad, believed to have additional communication between Bui and a MedtoMarket official.

Police now say Bui admitted to forging documents with the former embalmer’s credentials to “process critical documents required for the intake and cremation of decedents,” Bishop said.

Bui also told investigators that her actions were at the request of MedtoMarket.

MedtoMarket CEO arrested

In a statement to KXAN last week, MedtoMarket said it “has become aware of certain allegations related to a mortuary MedtoMarket has contracted with in performing its important work and mission. MedtoMarket will cooperate with law enforcement and state regulatory officials as part of any investigation.”

The company also said it is an “approved anatomical facility,” which, according to the Texas Funeral Commission’s (TFSC) statements in the affidavit, would potentially authorize it to perform the embalming actions Bui is accused of doing.

TFSC’s executive director, Scott Bingaman, gave a statement to police regarding Bui’s alleged actions at Capital Mortuary: “It is unlawful for a commercial embalming establishment to use a dead human body for research or educational purposes.”

Ali’s attorney released a statement that said, in part:

“Contrary to some of the information provided to law enforcement, all of the activities by Dr. Ali and the companies he works with were fully authorized by law. Anatomical facilities work with tissue that is donated by well-meaning donors and their families to serve the interests of medical science and the entire Texas community. Anatomical facilities, which are authorized by Texas law, serve the purpose of allowing first responders, physicians and other health care providers to train using such donated tissue in order to save lives and heal others.”

No court date is listed for Ali yet. Bui’s next court appearance is currently set for June.

CEO Aaron Ali speaking at Texas Senate committee

KXAN learned more about Ali’s business from his testimony at the Texas Capitol earlier this month. For about six minutes, Ali spoke in front of the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on April 16. He said MedtoMarket is a state-approved anatomical facility.

“We work closely with physicians, first responders, military personnel, FBI and other healthcare providers to offer essential cadaver-based training,” Ali said to senators.

He spoke on Senate Bill 2721, also known as the Human Dignity Act. It focuses on regulating the treatment of human remains and anatomical donations for educational and research purposes.

“It institutes inspections. It demands transparency and accountability,” said Texas Sen. Tan Parker.

The bill would set new standards for body acquisition facilities, create a criminal offense for violating the regulations, and establish a secure electronic database to track bodies and parts under the Texas Funeral Service Commission.

“One of our primary concerns is the absence of healthcare professionals on the commission,” Ali said.

During Ali’s testimony, KXAN learned more about what he said happens inside MedtoMarket.

“You go to a lecture room where you get lectured by physicians on the procedures you’re going to be working on,” Ali said. “Once they’ve been trained in a didactic room, they change into scrubs, go through locked doors, lock sliding glass doors to a real OR facility that has non-porous floors with cadavers that are from authorized facilities and donors.”

When asked about their intake of bodies, Ali claimed to only accept “authorized consented individuals.”

“They have true authorization paperwork for their donation,” Ali said. “They are not unclaimed bodies.”

A senator asked if they do trainings outside the facility. Ali said they only do them in their facility and specifically train physicians, surgeons and first responders.

“We don’t train random people. We don’t have random people come into our facility,” Ali said.

On Tuesday, the committee reviewed SB 2721, made some changes to it and voted to recommend the substitute version to the Senate for further consideration.

The investigation is ongoing, but Austin police said they need former employees of Capitol Mortuary Services or anyone with information about the case to contact investigators. APD also said possible victims may get in touch with APD Victim Services at victim.services@austintexas.gov.