LOS ANGELES
Lokesh Tantuwaya, a 55-year-old neurosurgeon from San Diego, pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge for accepting approximately $3.3 million in bribes for performing spinal surgeries at a now-defunct Long Beach hospital.
From 2010 to 2013, Tantuwaya accepted money from Michael Drobot, who owned Pacific Hospital in Long Beach, in exchange for Tantuwaya performing spinal surgeries at that hospital. The bribe amount varied depending on the type of spinal surgery.
Pacific Hospital specialized in surgeries, especially spinal and orthopedic procedures. Drobot conspired with doctors, chiropractors and marketers to pay kickbacks and bribes in return for the referral of thousands of patients to Pacific Hospital for spinal surgeries and other medical services paid for primarily through the California workers’ compensation system.
As a result of the scheme, Tantuwaya entered into contracts with Drobot and Drobot-owned companies. He admitted in his plea agreement that he knew or deliberately was ignorant that the payments were being given to him in exchange for bringing his patient surgeries to Pacific Hospital.
Tantuwaya deposited bribe checks into his bank accounts and met with Drobot and Drobot’s employees. He admitted that he knew the receipt of money in exchange for the referral of medical service was illegal and that he owed a fiduciary duty to his patients to not accept money in exchange for taking their surgeries to Pacific Hospital.
United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a December 9 sentencing hearing, at which time Tantuwaya will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph T. McNally and Billy Joe McLain of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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