Here are nine orthopedic and spine related fraud settlements from 2024 to know:
1. Devicemaker Medtronic entered into a settlement with Dan Abrams Co. in a yearslong spine device fraud lawsuit. The initial lawsuit was filed in 2015 by the Dan Abrams Co., which alleged that Medtronic represented certain spine devices that could only be used in the cervical spine as being applicable to the thoracolumbar spine in an FDA clearance application as a class 2 device.
2. Four people, including a neurosurgeon, were charged in connection with a scheme involving fraudulent workers' compensation. Vrijesh Tantuwaya, MD, a neurosurgeon in San Diego, David Fish, and two other people were charged in the scheme that billed nearly $100 million in fraudulent fees.
3. Jesse Foote, a resident of Fairfield, Conn., pleaded guilty to his role in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving orthotics and other durable medical equipment. Mr. Foote admitted to controlling a marketing company that purchased information on Medicare beneficiaries from overseas telemarketing companies and then using prewritten physician orders to prescribe DME.
4. Olarewaju Oladipo, MD, an orthopedic surgeon based in Canton, Mass., was sentenced to 16 months in prison for executing a scheme to defraud healthcare benefit programs. From approximately January 2016 through December 2019, Dr. Oladipo used billing codes for more complex and expensive services that were never provided.
5. A former pain clinic owner and a medical sales representative were sentenced for their role in a healthcare fraud scheme. David Shehi owned Etowah Pain in Rainbow City, Ala. There he was paid kickbacks in exchange for ordering nerve conduction tests from QBR, an electrodiagnostic testing company, that would be billed to Medicare and other health insurance programs. At his practice, Mr. Shehi routinely billed health insurance programs for patient visits using the code that would receive the highest reimbursement.
6. Doron Tavlin, a former vice president of Mazor Robotics, was convicted of insider trading ahead of Mazor's acquisition by medical device company Medtronic. In 2018, Medtronic finalized the $1.6 billion acquisition of Mazor after making a series of investments over the span of two years. Mr. Tavlin is accused of engaging in an insider trading conspiracy with Afshin Farahan from 2018 to August 2020.
7. Aaron Rossi, former CEO of Reditus Labs, pleaded guilty to federal mail and tax fraud charges stemming from a scheme from when he was employed with Bloomington-based Central Illinois Orthopedic Surgery. Mr. Rossi pleaded guilty to one count of tax fraud for withholding income on his tax return and one count of mail fraud, with six additional charges dropped as part of a plea agreement.
8. A New York man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for orchestrating a scheme to defraud health insurance companies. Mathew James was convicted of healthcare fraud, conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in 2022. He operated companies to provide billing services primarily for orthopedic surgeons and plastic surgeons throughout the U.S.
9. Memphis, Tenn.-based Tri-State Orthopaedics paid more than $540,000 to resolve allegations it improperly billed TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program. The alleged billing fraud happened from Feb. 6, 2019, through Nov. 17, 2021.