Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
Aditya Humad, Chief Financial Officer of SpineFrontier, Inc., pleaded guilty on May 7 to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute in a case involving bribes paid to surgeons. The plea was entered before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who scheduled sentencing for Aug. 6.
The case centers on payments made by Humad and company founder Kingsley R. Chin to surgeons in exchange for using SpineFrontier’s spinal implant products during surgeries paid for by federal health care programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Health Administration. Prosecutors said that more than $540,000 in sham consulting fees were paid as bribes, while the company earned millions from related procedures.
According to court documents, contracts with surgeons specified hourly rates between $250 and $1,000 for consulting work that was rarely performed or not performed at all. Prosecutors said the program was intended to induce use of company products rather than gather legitimate technical feedback. "Humad used the bribes they paid pursuant to that program, to induce surgeons to use SpineFrontier’s products in surgeries that were paid for by federal health care programs," according to prosecutors.
Humad previously agreed under a civil settlement agreement to pay more than $150,000 plus potential additional payments based on his income. Chin pleaded guilty last year to making false statements and received one year of supervised release with six months home confinement along with fines totaling nearly $50,000; his wholly-owned company also agreed as part of a civil settlement payment totaling $855,000.
This case is connected with other prosecutions: surgeon Jason Montone and distributor John Balzer both pleaded guilty in August 2020 related to the same scheme and are scheduled for sentencing later this year.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts leads these prosecutions and serves residents statewide through offices including Boston’s John Joseph Moakley United States Federal Courthouse; it employs over 200 staff members enforcing federal laws across criminal and civil matters according to the official website.
