Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Settlement Of Lawsuit Against Spinal Implant Company, Its CEO, And

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Settlement Of Lawsuit Against Spinal Implant Company, Its CEO, And Another Executive For Paying Millions Of Dollars In Kickbacks To Surgeons

Defendants Make Admissions and Agree to Pay a Total of $5.99 Million


Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), announced today that the United States has settled a civil healthcare fraud lawsuit against LIFE SPINE INC. (“LIFE SPINE”), MICHAEL BUTLER (“BUTLER”), the founder, president, and chief executive officer of LIFE SPINE, and RICHARD GREIBER (“GREIBER”), the vice president of business development of LIFE SPINE, alleging that LIFE SPINE paid kickbacks in the form of millions of dollars of consulting fees, royalties, and intellectual property acquisition fees to surgeons to induce them to use LIFE SPINE’s spinal implants, devices, and equipment. The surgeons who received these kickbacks accounted for approximately half of Life Spine’s domestic sales of spinal products from 2012 through 2018. In the settlement, LIFE SPINE agreed to pay $5.5 million, BUTLER agreed to pay $375,000, and GREIBER agreed to pay $115,000. Each defendant also made admissions and acknowledged and accepted responsibility for conduct alleged in the Government’s complaint as described further below. The amounts paid by LIFE SPINE and GREIBER under the settlement are based on the Office’s assessment of their ability to pay based on the financial information they provided.

The settlement was approved by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “The settlement reflects this Office’s commitment to stopping companies like Life Spine, and the individuals who run them, from engaging in unlawful kickback schemes. Such conduct seriously undermines the public’s confidence in medical treatment decisions made by doctors whose judgment may be compromised by illegal kickbacks. This Office will continue vigorously to pursue companies and individuals who pay health care providers to induce them to use their products or services.”

HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert said: “Medical treatment should be based on the patient’s best interest and not on illegal kickbacks. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to protect patients and taxpayers from individuals who place profits before the needs of patients.”

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-settlement-lawsuit-against-spinal-implant-company-its