Surgeon Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Accepting $3.3 Million in Illicit Payments to Perform Spinal Surgeries at Corrupt Hospital
- 12/12/22
- WorkersCompensation.com
Los Angeles,CA (WorkersCompensation.com) – A neurosurgeon was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison for accepting approximately $3.3 million in bribes for performing spinal surgeries at a now-defunct Long Beach hospital whose owner later was imprisoned for committing a massive workers’ compensation system scam.
Lokesh S. Tantuwaya, 55, of San Diego, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who also ordered him to forfeit his ill-gotten gains of $3.3 million.
Tantuwaya pleaded guilty on September 1 to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud and to receive illegal payments for health care referrals. He has been in federal custody since May 2021 after he was found to have violated the terms of his pretrial release.
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, who in 2018 was sentenced to 63 months in prison for his crimes in this scheme, conspired with doctors, chiropractors and marketers…
