Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, the founder, president, and CEO of SpineFrontier, Inc., was sentenced in federal court in Boston for making false statements to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The sentencing took place before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani.
Chin, 61, received a sentence of one year of supervised release, with the first six months to be served under home confinement. He was also ordered to pay a $9,500 fine. In addition to this penalty, Chin agreed to pay $40,000 as part of a related civil settlement. His company, KICVentures, which he wholly owns, agreed to pay $855,000 as part of the same settlement. Chin pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of making false statements.
Under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, companies that manufacture medical devices are required to report any payments or transfers of value made to physicians. This information is made publicly available by CMS through its Open Payments website.
According to prosecutors, SpineFrontier provided surgeons with opportunities for consulting on product development. However, Chin directed employees to classify certain payments as consulting fees even when no actual consulting work had been performed. Specifically, he caused a payment of $4,750 on January 19, 2016, to be reported as a “consulting” payment despite knowing that the surgeon had not done any consulting work for that payment. Chin also knew that both he and SpineFrontier were required to accurately report all such payments or transfers of value.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated: “United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abraham R. George, Christopher R. Looney and Mackenzie A. Queenin prosecuted the case.
