CHANDIGARH: A 41-year-old Indian-origin chief financial officer of a spinal implant company formerly based in Malden was sentenced to a four-month jail term by a US federal court for allegedly bribing surgeons to use the company's products in exchange for sham consulting fees.
After the jail term, he will have one year of supervised release and pay a USD 9,500 fine.
A statement issued by the US Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, stated that Cambridge resident Aditya Humad (41) was sentenced on August 6 by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to four months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a USD 9,500 fine.
In May this year, Humad pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Humad was charged in September 2021 along with Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, SpineFrontier's Founder, President and CEO. Humad conspired to pay and direct the payment of over USD 540,000 in bribes to surgeons in the form of sham consulting fees for work they did not perform.
Chin pleaded guilty in May 2025 to making false statements to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and was later sentenced to one year of supervised release, with the first six months in home confinement, and ordered to pay a $9,500 fine.
Humad also previously agreed to pay more than USD 150,000, including interest, as part of a civil settlement agreement, along with potential additional payments based on his annual income.
The US Justice Department stated that Humad conspired with SpineFrontier to enter into contracts with surgeons, agreeing to pay the surgeons between USD 250 and USD 1,000 per hour for purported consulting for SpineFrontier.
In reality, prosecutors said Humad directed the company to pay surgeons to use SpineFrontier products in surgeries, including procedures paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans Health Administration.
The surgeons frequently spent only a small fraction of their reported time, if any, performing actual consulting, according to prosecutors. SpineFrontier received millions of dollars in revenue from surgeries performed by the surgeons.
"Although the surgeon-consulting program was purportedly directed at gathering technical feedback about SpineFrontier's products, 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 such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Health Administration.
Additionally, the surgeons frequently spent only a small fraction of their reported time, if any, performing actual consulting.
Humad previously agreed to pay a fine pursuant to a civil settlement agreement, including a fixed amount totaling more than USD 150,000 (including interest) and potential additional contingency payments based upon his annual income," the statement added.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley said that this sentence is the culmination of years of dogged pursuit of SpineFrontier, its executives, Aditya Humad and Kingsley Chin, and multiple bribe-taking doctors.
She added that Humad now stands convicted and sentenced for conspiracy to pay bribes to physicians to induce them to use products in complicated spine surgeries. "In criminal and civil proceedings, we have recovered more than USD four million from these executives, their companies and the physicians who took their bribes.
Let these resolutions serve as notice that no matter how long it takes, and how sophisticated the scheme, we will crack down on health care fraud offences," Foley said.
"This corporate scheme sought to corruptly influence surgeons by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to induce the use of SpineFrontier's medical devices in surgeries.
Humad's actions undermined critical safeguards designed to protect patients and the integrity of taxpayer-funded health care programs. HHS OIG, working closely with our law enforcement partners, will continue to hold accountable individuals and executives who engage in such illegal schemes," said Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge at the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG).
Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, said, "As the Chief Financial Officer of SpineFrontier, Inc., Aditya Humad conspired to bribe surgeons to use his company's products – and paid them more than half a million dollars in sham consulting fees for work they did not perform – in an effort to boost the company's bottom line.
Kickback schemes like this not only violate federal law, but they erode the public's trust in our health care system. That's why the FBI, and our partners, will continue to ensure individuals who put their company's profits ahead of patient care are brought to justice."
"This sentencing sends a clear message that the VA Office of Inspector General will work diligently to ensure that individuals who conspire to pay kickbacks to influence medical decisions are held accountable. The VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney's Office and federal law enforcement partners for their collaboration and exceptional work in pursuing justice in this case," said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri of the VA OIG's Northeast Field Office.
In related criminal prosecutions, in August 2020, surgeon Jason Montone, D.O., 50, of Lawson, Miss., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and obstruction. Medical device distributor John Balzer, 48, of Lenexa, Kan., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and one count of witness tampering. Montone and Balzer are scheduled to be sentenced in September 2026.
In related civil enforcement, in March 2020, five doctors agreed to pay civil settlements to resolve allegations of accepting sham consulting fees in violation of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute: Dr. F. Paul DeGenova agreed to pay USD 486,985; Dr. Michael Murray agreed to pay USD 330,668; Dr. Joseph Shehadi agreed to pay USD 323,419; Dr. Agha Khan agreed to pay USD 310,843; and Dr. John Atwater agreed to pay USD 105,149. In April 2020, Dr. John Carlson agreed to pay USD 1.75 million to resolve the same allegations.