BEVERLY HILLS, CA --- A Beverly Hills doctor has created quite a stir by claiming he used liposuctioned fat from his patients to make biodiesel to fuel his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.

The claim hasn't been substantiated, Scientific American reported. Such a practice is a crime.

The doctor, Craig Alan Bittner, has reportedly fled the U.S. to avoid prosecution for a number of criminal charges, including allegedly permitting his assistant and his girlfriend to perform surgeries without a medical license, Forbes.com reported. Bittner posted a note on his website saying he had left his Beverly Hills practice to volunteer at a small clinic in South America.

In November, the California State Medical Board searched the doctor's office and home, seizing medical records, computers and other materials regarding his "liposculpting" practice, the Beverly Hills Courier reported.

Bittner had acted as medical director of Beverly Hills Liposculpture and was a board-certified radiologist.

Of course, biofuel can be produced from animal fat. Tyson Foods, Syntroleum Corp. and Dynamic Fuels in 2008 formed a joint venture in which biofuel will be produced using Tyson's beef tallow, pork lard, chicken fat and greases.

But the prospect of using liposunctioned human fat sounds a little like something out of a sci-fi movie. Anyone remember Soylent Green?