Former SpineFrontier CFO sentenced to four months for surgeon kickbacks

Aditya Humad, former chief financial officer of the spinal-implant company SpineFrontier, was sentenced to four months in federal prison, followed by a year of supervised release and a $9,500 fine. He had earlier admitted guilt to a single count of conspiracy to breach the anti-kickback law, acknowledging his role in arranging more than $540,000 in bogus consulting fees paid to surgeons. These payments were intended to persuade the physicians to use SpineFrontier’s devices during operations, which in turn produced millions of dollars in sales for the company.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts highlighted the case as part of a broader effort to combat health-care fraud, noting that the scheme also implicated SpineFrontier founder and CEO Kingsley R Chin. Federal investigators described the consulting contracts as a cover for illicit payments, with many doctors reporting little or no actual consulting work. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General emphasized that the conduct threatened the integrity of Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Health Administration programs.