A neurosurgeon 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 whose owner later was imprisoned for committing a massive workers’ compensation system scam. Lokesh Tantuwaya, 55, of San Diego, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and to violate the federal Anti-Kickback statute. He has been in federal custody since May 2021 after he was found to have violated the terms of his pretrial release.
According to his plea agreement and statements at the change-of-plea hearing, 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. During its final five years, the scheme resulted in the submission of more than $500 million in medical bills for spine surgeries involving kickbacks.
